Welling has 'destroyed' roads where people drive like 'maniacs'

Bexley borough currently has over 500 reports of damaged roads and potholes on FixMyStreet.

The topic of road maintenance was discussed at a Places Overview and Scrutiny meeting for Bexley Council on June 27.

Conservative Councillor Cheryl Bacon asked for repairs to the borough’s roads to be looked at as a priority, fearing the state of the highways will “only get worse”.

Hook Lane currently has 17 reports of damaged road or potholes on FixMyStreet

Cllr Bacon said at the meeting: “We want Bexley to be a nice place to live in, and part of that is having roads that don’t look like a bomb has gone off down the street.”

One of the worst streets in the borough for road defects is Hook Lane in Welling, which currently has 17 reports of potholes or damaged stretches of road on FixMyStreet.

Richard Davies, 78, has lived on Hook Lane for 25 years.

The local said potholes are “everywhere” in the area and drivers often go through red lights, but that such problems are to be expected when living on a main road.

Mr Davies told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Nothing gets done. It’s no good complaining. It is [frustrating] in my mind because you’re paying road tax… People drive up and down here like maniacs.”

Jim Johnson, 76, has lived in Sidcup his whole life and often walks through Welling.

Mr Johnson said the roads in the area have been “destroyed” through “massive underinvestment” over the years.

Hook Lane in Welling currently has multiple road defects reported on it on FixMyStreet

Mr Johnson told the LDRS: “You have to keep watching out for potholes. If you’re driving along and you see a pothole, you have to go round it. But everywhere is the same, they’re just wrecked.”

He added: “Everywhere is a mess. Look at the weeds along the roads, that never used to happen.

"Look at the drains, they’re half-blocked… I just accept it, nothing’s going to be done about it. There isn’t the money to do it anymore. It’s just desperate.”

Tao Han, 77, said he has lived on Hook Lane for 53 years. The resident said that local roads such as Hook Lane and Yorkland Avenue used to be well maintained, but he has noticed a decline recently and has found the issue “annoying”.

Potholes seen on Yorkland Avenue, Welling

Mr Han told the LDRS: “[It’s been a problem for] a few years now. They come along and they repair them. And within a couple of weeks, they’re gone again.”

A Bexley Council spokesperson told the LDRS that an increased number of potholes across the borough’s roads had been noted following the snow and ice conditions experienced last December.

They said a policy has been adopted to identify which potholes required action based on risks to road users.

They added: “Our Highway Technicians and Inspectors continue to arrange treatment for those potholes that meet the thresholds and monitor those that don’t in case they deteriorate.

"Where necessary, an immediate repair is carried out, but this is often using temporary material in order to keep the road open, pending a more permanent repair when the road can be closed safely.”

John Jackson, 36, is originally from Sidcup but has spent most of his life around Welling. The local said he hasn’t noticed potholes being a particular issue in the area, but that traffic on Welling High Street is “terrible”.

Mr Jackson told the LDRS: “Traffic is the worst thing about Welling. It’s absolutely horrendous.

"If there’s an accident, even on the M25 or Dartford Bridge, it backs up all around here. If there’s any trouble with the Blackwall Tunnel, it backs up all around here.”

Conservative Councillor Nigel Betts represents the Falconwood and Welling ward for Bexley Council alongside Cllrs Andrew Curtois and Frazer Brooks.

Cllr Betts told the LDRS that Bexley Council is investing £15million in improvements to local roads and pavements.

He told the LDRS: “As councillors for Falconwood and Welling, we work hard to represent the concerns of local residents, including helping to get potholes fixed when we are made aware of them.”

He added: “In recent weeks the council has filled a number of potholes on roads in Welling, including on Yorkland Avenue, where we are also working to improve road safety with the installation of new road signs at its junction with Cambridge Avenue.”

A Bexley Council spokesperson told the LDRS: “The council has a programme of resurfacing each year.

"The roads with the worst problems of potholes, rutting, structural failures, etc are prioritised.

"However, there are a number of large projects planned by utility companies to do major trenching works across the borough.

"This means a number of resurfacing schemes have been deferred to save the new material being dug up so soon after the works are complete.”