Residents hit out at ‘diabolical’ state of South Downs roads

They say that two roads in West Chiltington - West Chiltington Road and Goosegreen Lane - are particularly bad.

Sarah France, who has lived in the village for more than 20 years, said: “Goosegreen Lane from Ashington to Thakeham is undrivable even though there was a repair crew there two weeks ago supposedly filling the craters.”

She added: “West Chiltington Road has been absolutely diabolical for the last five months.”

She said road crews filled some of the potholes and not others. “People are having to swerve to miss them. There have already been two accidents there. It’s really not acceptable.”

Barbara Hall, who also lives in the village, said: “I have noticed that when repairs are being carried out on the local roads all that seems to happen is men arrive, fill up the hole and cover it with tarmac.

“There is no uniformity it almost seems random - only some of the holes filled in and even that is rubbish, the tarmac is not flattened properly.”

A spokesman for West Sussex County Council said: “Potholes have been repaired in West Chiltington Road and Goosegreen Lane.

“There were some issues with the quality of temporary repairs but this has been addressed with the contractor.

“We will continue to monitor the roads and carry out works as required.”

He said that West Sussex Highways was continuing to work with contractors during the coronavirus outbreak “to ensure any emergencies on the highway continue to be prioritised, as they always are.

“We will constantly review the situation and use all the available resources to keep the highway safe.

“In line with the current guidance on COVID-19 from the Government, works are carried out safely and within the Standard Operating Procedure guidance issued on 24 March 2020 by the Construction Leadership Council to ensure the continued health, safety and wellbeing of all workers.

“Currently, all public highways in West Sussex are inspected and any potholes assessed according to safety guidelines, to decide if they need repairing. If they do, they are given a priority level.

“We have experienced some unprecedented weather in recent months and this led to a high number of defects on the county’s highways.

“The safety and integrity of the network during this period is a credit to the people who continue to go out day and night in all weathers and circumstances to inspect and fix our roads.

“Inevitably, when we are dealing with such a high volume of repairs, a small number will fall below the high standards that our residents demand.

“Our approach is to continually seek ways to do things better and so we are regularly in discussion with our contractor about how we can do this.”

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