Highway repairs in Suffolk , an opportunity to have your say (officially!)

A new approach to potholes, coming to a road near you soon.

Another week, another consultation, this time from Suffolk Highways.

When residents are asked about what really matters to them when it comes to the services delivered by the County Council, highways always comes out as their number one concern.  This is, of course mainly due to the fact that almost all of us use the roads.  Social care and even education, while obviously very important, affect the lives of fewer people.

From my perspective it is unfortunate that highways scores so highly among the general public, because in Suffolk it is impossible to escape the fact that the council's performance here has been less than optimum in recent years.(although I would maintain that it is probably not significantly worse than that seen in many other rural counties).

For those really interested in getting to the bottom of what has gone wrong and why, it is worth taking time to read the recent Cabinet paper which deals with the extension of the contract signed three years ago with Keir.  The contract effectively outsourced our highways work to the private company.   There is no attempt in the paper to hide the mistakes that were made in the design and implementation of these arrangements.

The paper can be accessed by clicking on the link to item 6  HERE.

It has taken far too long in my opinion to get to grips with shortcomings at Suffolk Highways that became evident to all at a very early stage.  However, the appointment of a new director from a county where the delivery of highways services through a private contractor actually works appears, finally, to be leading to some changes..

As part of the reorganisation of the Highways Department that is now ongoing, residents in Suffolk are being invited to give their views on a new plan that sets the standard that Suffolk Higheways will meet for ‘reactive maintenance’  (road repairs to you or me).

You don’t have very long to make your views heard.  The consultation closes on November 18^th, but for full details of the new arrangements, and a chance to have your say, you should click  HERE.