Residents of an Airdrie housing estate are campaigning to have permanent repairs carried out on the roads in their area, saying their current patched-up state is causing flooding and further disrepair.
Neighbours at The Rushes say their area is a “forgotten corner” with growing potholes causing increasing drainage issues, while overgrown verges following a council policy change are also contributing to blockages along its pavements.
Council officials now say that further repairs are planned following residents’ complaints about those carried out to date – while residents want to see a resolution to what has been a long-running issue.
Rushes spokesperson Onno Heinrichs told Lanarkshire Live: “There are so many potholes which are in really poor condition and there are some where I can get my whole hand under the tarmac because it’s completely washed away underneath.
“The gullies have sunk so far they’re probably not connecting to the drainage – they were cleaned in November because they were full of silt and hadn’t been done for a year – and the pavement itself has sunk about six inches which all means we get inches of flooding at the bottom of the street in heavy rain.
“Some work was done a couple of weeks before Christmas but they just dumped some tarmac around a pothole with a spade; it’s shoddy and if they have to send somebody every five or six weeks, it’s going to end up more expensive than a proper repair.”
He added: “Since the council stopped cutting the grass it means the pavements are overgrown and just half the size; it makes the flooding worse and residents including elderly people have to walk on the road to get past.
“Everybody is up in arms about this, but although I’ve been complaining for long and weary about it we just haven’t seemed to get anywhere and it seems like it’s never going to get done.
“We want to see Springholm Drive, Broompark Crescent and the roads in the estate being resurfaced and cleaned and the flooding resolved – the time of patching up is past and it’s good money after bad.”
The residents have a planned meeting with road officials and Airdrie North councillor Alan Beveridge where they hope that plans can be put in place to address their maintenance concerns.
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “Repairs to the road and footway were carried out at The Rushes recently. Following concerns from residents, our contractor has been instructed to carry out any necessary remedial work.
“Some additional work, including repairs to ironworks and kerbs, is scheduled be carried out in the near future.
“Road surface water gullies on Broompark Crescent and Springholm Drive were cleaned last August and September as part of the council’s maintenance programme.
“The location will continue to be monitored in line with our routine safety inspection programme and any defects that meet the prescribed criteria will be addressed.”
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