Roy Harris from Uckfield highlighted the inability of the county council to undertake basic repairs to the public highway in his letter recently click here to read. Sadly, his is not an isolated report. It is not uncommon to see four or five attempts to repair the same pothole as a result of the absence of basic engineering skills. First there is rarely any preparation of the edges to a pothole. Then there is no evidence of the use of a compacting plate and finally there is never a re-sealing of the edges to ensure a firm bond with the existing roadway. In fact it is evident that the more call-outs that are required, preferably in the evenings or weekends, the more profitable the contract becomes. It can be no surprise that the state of our highest is steadily deteriorating and repairs are becoming more costly. All the works to the highway are apparently rigorously checked including those of the multiple utility companies but everywhere there are examples of reinstated roads and pavements with inappropriate replacement materials and shoddy work practices. You don’t need to walk very far in Lewes to see, even in Keere Street and many other places in this historic town that the contractors are failing in their duty and despite powers to prosecute apparently being unavailable, the council does nothing and is content to reward the contractors, even where they have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in enhancement schemes in recent years. It is nothing short of civic vandalism. It is blatantly obvious the highway contract is no longer fit for purpose and the sooner it is terminated and replaced with a county council employed skilled labour force, as previously was the case, the better. Then there might be some hope of acceptable standards and costs.
