Council focuses on potholes after cold snap and wet weather

FOLLOWING the hot and dry summer, a period of cold winter weather and the continuing heavy rain, Wiltshire Council and its contractors are working hard to fix cases of potholes on the county’s highways. 

As well as its usual teams working to fix potholes where they occur, the council has also tasked its 18 Parish Stewards to solely focus on mending potholes that meet the council’s defect criteria over the next few weeks to help get on top of the issue. 

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, cabinet member for transport, said, “Following the summer, the recent cold snap and the increasingly wet weather we have seen an increase in potholes on some of Wiltshire’s roads, and we’re working hard to respond to this, to ensure we have well-connected communities, as set out in our Business Plan. 

“The weather has provided the perfect conditions for potholes to form, and that’s why we’re seeing an increase in the number of road defects throughout the county.  

“Our teams are responding to customer reports about potholes and other highways issues, and to help with this, we’ve tasked our 18 Parish Stewards to only work on patching potholes in their communities over the coming weeks. 

“Because the weather is so wet, in many cases our teams will patch the hole as a temporary fix, and then, later in the year, more permanent repairs will take place when conditions are more favourable. 

“People can quickly and easily report potholes through our MyWilts app or website.” 

In Wiltshire, the M4, A303, and A36 are all managed by National Highways, and so any issues on these roads should not be reported to Wiltshire Council. 

If people see a pothole on Wiltshire’s roads, they should report it using the MyWilts reporting system – either through the MyWilts smartphone app for Apple or Android devices, or online at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/mywilts