Anger as roadwork delays force pothole diversions

A resident said the closure of a village road since May has caused a "big loss" to the local community, with events cancelled and drivers forced onto heavily potholed diversion routes.

Severn Trent is carrying out a major water mains renewal scheme on a road through Stoke St Milborough, Shropshire, replacing around 2.3km of pipe after a high number of burst water mains.

Graham Price, chairman of the parish council, said there had been "scant regard" for the impact the long-running works were having on local people in a village where community facilities are limited.

The closure was originally expected to end in September. However, the council said the completion date will now be 16 December.

The council said it appreciated the inconvenience and disruption caused by the continuing closure but that it "remains necessary" to "allow the works to be completed safely and to ensure a safe and reliable water supply".

Residents say the closure has become a nightmare, with traffic diverted onto roads riddled with potholes.

Polly Bolton, who has lived in the area for 46 years, said the diversion routes were "so badly potholed" that they were damaging vehicles and causing discomfort for drivers.

"There's one diversion through the hamlet of Blackford that I just won't drive because I've clumped my back so often going through these potholes," she said.

"I'm constantly having to pump up my tyres or get them checked."

Price said the parish council had warned before the closure that the alternative routes were already in poor condition.

"We notified the council that the diversion routes were full of potholes and asked whether they could be improved in advance to make them more suitable for the additional traffic," he said.

"Unfortunately, that doesn't appear to have happened."

Price said the closure had also caused significant problems for his nearby farm, which has incurred additional costs because larger delivery vehicles cannot use the diversion routes.

"Many deliveries come on quite big lorries, but they've had to transfer loads onto smaller vehicles to reach us," he said.

"We've had surcharges of up to £200 per load for feed and other supplies."

While he acknowledged the importance of replacing what he described as "critical" infrastructure following numerous leaks, he said the impact on residents, businesses and community groups had not been properly considered.

"Farms, small businesses, residents and community events also need to take place," he said.

Price said residents had been kept informed to some extent, but claimed information provided had not always matched what happened on the ground.

"We've had communication with Severn Trent on a fairly frequent basis, but unfortunately what we've been told has not always proved accurate," he said.

"As far as the extension is concerned, there was no community conversation about that whatsoever."

Bolton said she wanted to see more workers on site to help speed up the scheme.

"I'd like to see more people actually on the job so that they see it as a priority to open these communities up again," she said.

"Mending the potholes on the diversion routes would be really lovely and, generally, treating us like we matter."

A spokesman for Severn Trent apologised for the "ongoing disruption" and said the company was working as quickly as possible to complete the project and return the area to normal.

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