Grove Park Gardens To Be Resurfaced Due To Potholes

One of twenty roads in the borough set for remedial action by Hounslow Highway

Picture: Google Streetview

Grove Park Gardens is one of twenty roads identified for complete resurfacing because of potholes, and the only road in Chiswick scheduled for this level of remedial attention.

One of the manifesto pledges that Hounslow Council made in the run-up to the local elections last year was to invest £2 million to fix potholes in local roads - and invite residents to report potholes that need attention.

Since then, Hounslow Highways has had over 790 issues reported with 263 potholes having been repaired. A further 212 potholes are programmed for completion with a further 162 under review.

A total of 65 roads have been identified in the borough as suffering in most cases from delamination. A works programme will follow, focusing on the complete resurfacing of the 20 roads across the borough that are highest priority, starting in August 2019, at a cost of over £700K.

Last February, Chiswick High Road was declared to be the worst road in Hounslow borough for potholes according to data released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The request was made by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) of all 33 London Boroughs and it showed that Hounslow had 357 complaints of which 29 included claims for damage to a vehicle. Only three claims were paid out - a total of £432.

In general Hounslow Council says it has one of the best road surfaces of all London councils and has a Pothole Buster programme in place. The Council says:"There are a number of roads in Hounslow affected by extensive potholes which are not severe enough to meet the council’s normal criteria for repair. Many are roads suffering delamination – which is when the asphalt layer has detached from the concrete base creating an uneven surface. The process to fix the delamination potholes is more intensive as it can require large areas of broken asphalt to be removed, requiring appropriate notification to those residents living by these roads.

"But what is a pothole? To most people a pothole is a catch-all phrase to describe any road defect, from the classic gouged-out damaged area, often due to repeated freeze and thaw, to superficial damage to a road’s surface. As with any road maintenance programme, not all are equal, and criteria apply as to when a ‘pothole’ requires repair."

Over the course of the next 2 financial years a further investment of £1,300,000 will be invested in the borough’s roads.

Councillor Guy Lambert, Lead Member for Highways at Hounslow Council said, “Hounslow Highways have invested £96m in their core investment programme since beginning our Private Finance Initiative with them over 6 years ago. This involved the resurfacing of approximately 206KM of carriageways and 230km of footpaths. This investment has put us in a very good place and the borough’s roads are amongst the best maintained in London as a result.

“Nonetheless, potholes are something that matter to our residents and this extra investment will enable us to achieve more widespread improvement across key roads and to work more efficiently in re-surfacing entire roads, where required, rather than on a piecemeal basis. We will continue to listen to our residents to ensure that this investment is directed to the areas it is most needed and so we want to hear from you about any potholes or road defects which need our attention. The ones you report will be added to the list of roads needing attention and will release the next tranche of funding in 2020 to fix the ones that residents still see as top priorities”

To report a pothole on your street, visit: www.hounslow.gov.uk/potholebusters

July 1, 2019