"Our roads are pitted with 8,000 potholes " (From Basingstoke Gazette)

"Our roads are pitted with 8,000 potholes "

9:16am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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IN THE Beatles’ iconic song A Day in the Life, John Lennon refers to a 1967 newspaper article about 4,000 potholes in Blackburn, Lancashire. In that song, it was calculated that number of holes would fill the Albert Hall.

Now, Liberal Democrat borough group leader Councillor John Shaw claims that he and his colleagues have worked out that there could be about 8,000 potholes in Basingstoke.

Cllr Shaw said: “If Basingstoke and Deane has twice that number, then it could fill the Albert Hall twice over.”

The number was arrived at after Lib Dem councillors surveyed each of their wards for potholes, found an average and then multiplied it by the number of wards in the borough.

This number of holes, said Cllr Shaw, is putting road users at risk.

He said: “Some potholes are so large that they could damage car tyres and could result in motorbikes losing control.“Skimping on roads is a false economy. We all end up paying more in car repairs, insurance claims and the cost of accidents.”

Referring to a Gazette report on a £1million reduction in spending on roads and pavements in the last five years, Cllr Shaw called for funding for road maintenance to be increased.

The Conservative-led county council has hit back at claims of neglect, Councillor Mel Kendal, county council executive member for environment, said the big freeze had caused unforeseen widespread damage.

He said: “We have bought in extra resources to help repair many of the potholes that have formed and we are assessing the cost of the problem. It is our objective to restore the roads to a first-class state.”

Cllr Kendal refuted claims that the pothole plague is down to the administration “skimping”.

He said: “It is not just Basingstoke that has experienced a gradual reduction in funding. Government funding for highways and transport has been reduced for a number of years.”