MEMBERS of the Basingstoke Liberal Democrat group are calling on Hampshire County Council to address the ‘deteriorating’ state of the borough’s roads.

The Lib Dems are claiming residents’ safety on the roads is being put at risk, saying a number of large potholes in roads are being left unrepaired.

The Lib Dems say major defects in Sullivan Road, Brighton Hill, has the potential to distract drivers from looking out for pedestrians and cyclists - including children going to and from nearby Chalk Ridge Primary School.

The party adds the defects are also a hazard to inexperienced motorists taking their tests at the nearby driving test centre.

Andy Konieczko, who is standing as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats to represent the Brighton Hill North ward in this May’s borough council election, said: “More and more residents are telling us that the condition of our roads is getting worse, but Hampshire County Council isn’t listening to their concerns. We have to put that right because residents’ safety is being put at risk.

“Basingstoke’s roads are being left to deteriorate and we’re all suffering from the resulting pothole plague.

“Drivers, cyclists and pedestrians are risking injury, motorists are experiencing damage to their cars, and council tax payers are having to fork out more in compensation.

"Everybody loses out because the Conservatives on Hampshire County Council are trying to cut costs and aren’t looking after our roads.

“Local residents shouldn’t have to put up with this. The Conservatives on Hampshire County Council can’t sit back and hope that the problem will go away. It won’t. And the longer they leave it, the worse our town’s pothole plague will become.”

However, the county council said it is investing £10 million each year to help with planned road maintenance.

Executive member for environment and transport, Councillor Rob Humby, said: “We have a long term strategy for maintaining Hampshire’s roads with the focus being on making them more resilient to the effects of extreme weather and increasingly heavy traffic.

“In Basingstoke, there has been significant capital investment for road improvement in the area. Despite this, without additional Government funding we are unable to fix every road defect as quickly as we would ideally like to. It is simply not possible to deliver overall improvements in the roads from year to year.

“Highways England receives around 52 times more funding than the County Council does for local roads. At a time when local councils are facing unprecedented budget pressures, it is imperative that a proper share of national funding is allocated for roads maintained by councils.”

To find a full list of planned road maintenance, go to hants.gov.uk/transport/roadmaintenance.