News

Stapleford residents say ‘shoddy repairs’ on the roads have left them dangerous for both pedestrians and drivers

By Callum Wright

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Residents in Stapleford have said road in the town remain “dangerous” despite numerous repairs from Nottinghamshire County Council to patch up potholes.

A road crossing on Derby Road had been a source of frustration for both councillors and residents after numerous complaints were made about its “poor condition”.

Workers from the authority arrived at the site on Tuesday morning (February 18) to repair a set of potholes, however the work was met with frustration as residents and councillors said the road had become “even more hazardous”.

Despite the return of workers later in the day to lay down what has been said to be a permanent repair, there remains concerns over the safety of the crossing and other roads in the area.

Cllr Richard MacRae (Ind), who represents Stapleford North on the borough council, said: “This crossing has been bad for years, like many of the roads in general, and myself and other councillors in the community have been complaining to the County Council for a long time.

“They’ve done what they’ve said is a permanent repair, which as you can see it isn’t, it’s actually falling apart already.

“You’ve got vehicles coming down here, they swerve because nobody wants to go down a pothole, but you’ve got people crossing the road, lots of vulnerable people, this is quite a busy part of Stapleford and nobody wants to see someone falling over and getting hurt.

“We’re just being let down by the County Council with these shoddy repairs.”

The original work to fill in the potholes had been shared online by Keira Hargraves, owner of body piercing business Skinderella on Derby Road.

With the business located right in front of the crossing, she says she has seen the dangerous effects caused by the potholes unfold up close.

“It’s just been such a mess, we’ve had accidents,” she said.

”I’ve had to do first aid on people, one lady was going over the road and as she was walking, she hit one of the holes and fell over. She was in her late 70s and had to have nine stitches and very bad bruising, somebody of that age, let alone any age, it’s just not right.

“I’ve been open for nearly seven years and we’ve been having problems since then, a lot of people drive up and around rather than coming through the centre of Stapleford, it massively effects businesses.”

Stapleford residents have also given their reaction to the potholes and repairs taking place across the major road.

One resident, Sarah Brennan, said: “The roads are in a really bad condition and have been for some time now, we can see the council have done something to repair it but they’ve done a really poor job by the looks of it.

“It’s encroached onto the crossing and I’m just thinking of my parents who are quite elderly, they would struggle to get over that and it could be a real trip hazard.”

But Jon Mee, from Sandiacre, said: “They’re [the Council] trying their best, it’s better than the potholes before when they was not doing anything.”

Commenting on the initial repair, a Highways Manager for the council admitted it was “unacceptable”.

They said:  “A team was sent out to make urgent repairs to the road surface on Derby Road in Stapleford following reports of road damage.

“The temporary repair they carried out was of a completely unacceptable standard and this will be investigated.

“A hotbox team was sent to the site immediately and have now carried out a proper and permanent patch repair.”