Home   News   Article

Subscribe Now

County council says it does inspect pavements monthly




HAZARDOUS pavements in Stratford continue to raise concerns despite Warwickshire County Council (WCC) saying it does carry out monthly safety inspections.

Residents have criticised the safety of pavements in the town centre which over the past five years have injured shoppers who have tripped or fallen over paving slabs which are loose, broken or uneven.

The Herald featured several photographs taken by resident, James Charlett, in an article dated 19th January in which he said “shoddy work” carried out by contractors for the council had cost thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money and remained a real a safety risk to anyone walking around the town centre.

Resident David Blake expressed his concerns about Mansell Street pavements in Stratford and sent this photograph to the Herald. (62037076)
Resident David Blake expressed his concerns about Mansell Street pavements in Stratford and sent this photograph to the Herald. (62037076)

His mother, Yvonne, tripped and fell in Wood Street three years ago banging her head and suffering a nosebleed as a result prompting James to call on the county council to conduct safety inspections on a monthly basis.

This week the council said it does make regular, monthly inspection of the town’s pavements.

In a statement a spokesperson said: "Warwickshire County Council carries out monthly safety inspections of the main streets in Stratford Town Centre. These inspections are carried out to identify and assess defects, which are then repaired in line with our published repair times. Our inspection teams operate all year round inspecting our highways across the county.”

The statement wasn’t enough to allay Mr Charlett’s concerns who said:

“The WCC reply is extremely disappointing and shows their lack of care and concern, not only for the publics’ safety but also for the huge sums of taxpayers’ money that has been squandered on poor work. The WCC reporting system is complicated and when things are reported they aren’t fixed. The paving area my mum fell over had been repeatedly reported but remained dangerous.

They state that the pavements in the town are inspected once a month and I simply do not believe them. If they are inspecting them they either have extremely low standards, need to visit an optician or aren’t fixing the areas they find are dangerous.

I would like to ask WCC one question. Are they happy with the condition of the fairly recently laid pavements on Bridge Street, High Street and Wood Street? It’s a simple yes or no question? If they refuse to answer, or say no, then it’s an admission that the hundreds of defects are a problem. WCC must have a clawback clause in their contract for the contractors to do the work again. WCC have repeatedly said it was the supplier/contractors who advised them to lay the pavements on a thin bed of sand - a process which everyone else told them would not work and has proven to be true.”

An inspection took place last Thursday involving the county highways localities officer. Three county councillors also took part. The group walked the main streets of Stratford looking at damaged pavements while inspecting issues such as broken bollards, drop drains and other street defects in need of repair.

Councillor Kate Rolfe (Stratford South) said: “We walked the whole of the town centre including Bridge Street, High Street and Wood Street. We were concerned at the state of the pavements on the Debenhams side of High Street and we know slabs are being highlighted with yellow marks for replacement or repair. Shopkeepers and retailers have told us that sometimes the slab is mended by putting it down on sand but that it comes back up again the same day. It is very, very frustrating. I do have concerns about what materials are being used and we have asked the localities officer to look at these discrepancies and find a more robust solution.”

Cllr Rolfe confirmed the town inspections that she is involved with take place every two or three months.

The county council advised in its statement:

“If residents find highway defects, we encourage them to report them to us by visiting www.warwickshire.gov.uk/reportit or by calling our customer service centre on 01926 412515."



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More