Potholes 'keep Barton residents awake' (From The Oxford Times)

Potholes 'keep Barton residents awake'

7:33pm Sunday 5th July 2009 in

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DAMAGED road surfaces are causing sleepless nights for residents on a road in an Oxford estate.

According to people on Stowford Road, Barton, pleas to roads authorities to look into the underlying problem which causes the surface on their street to shift and crack have been ignored.

Katherine Smith said she first reported the potholes outside her home in the road two years ago.

The 30-year-old mother of one said the surfaces were so bad, every time a lorry or bus went quickly past, her whole house shook – waking up her six month old daughter, Miranda.

She said: “I have been complaining about it for a long time.

“I have even logged on to the website where you can report potholes but nothing has been done. I have probably been complaining for about two years.

“They just patch it up but what they don’t seem to take into account is the fact the road is on a main bus route and it needs something more to be done.”

Robert Jolliffe, a community development worker for Barton Youth Centre, said the road was in a terrible state.

He added: “From my understanding, the problem arises because the whole of Barton is built on sand.

“The council need to invest a lot of money into it so they don’t have to keep patching it up every six months.”

Oxford City Council, which shares responsibilty for Oxford’s roads with Oxfordshire County Council, said Stowford Road fell under its remit.

But a spokesman added: “We apply for funding from Oxfordshire County Council every year to carry out routine maintenance on the city’s roads.

“This work includes surface dressing, tar spray and chipping, routine maintenance including potholes, kerbing, grass cutting, gully emptying and signs and lines work.

“The budget is about £1m and covers all minor roads in the city.

“If roads need more substantial work then we will submit a bid to the county at the beginning of the year. It is dependent on the county whether we get that money and the work can be carried out.”

Patrick Murray, city councillor for Barton and Sandhills, added: “Going in and out of town every day you see the same roads being dug up again and again, while others are ignored.

“The councils can blame each other but something needs to be done, and residents don’t care who does it.”

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Paul Smith refused to comment.