Exasperated Easter Ross councillors demand fairer deal over pothole repair as spending agreement reached
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
PUBLIC frustration over the state of Ross-shire's potholed roads has been echoed by exasperated councillors who are now demanding a better deal for some of the worst-hit areas.
Easter Ross councillors fed-up waiting for potholes to be fixed by Highland Council described roads in the area as “worse than anywhere else in the Highlands”.
They have agreed that 70 per cent of this year’s area capital roads budget will be spent on improvement of the roads.
As Easter Ross has 23 per cent of the road length in the former Ross and Cromarty area, the capital programme is based on that proportion of the 2020/21 budget – which equates to £239,623.
Tempers frayed at an area committee meeting as councillors voiced their frustration over being blamed by the public for the woeful state of many routes.
They believe the area is not getting its fair share of resources when it came to staff, plant and investment and questioned the quality of some of the work done.
Committee chairwoman Fiona Robertson has bent the ear of roads and transport head Tracey Urry and is awaiting a meeting with council leader, Margaret Davidson,.
She said: "Our understanding is that our roads are much worse than anywhere else and this wasn’t based on paranoia or exaggeration. We felt that we don’t get the service that we deserve. Our roads are in a far worse condition.”
That view was echoed by other Easter Ross councillors.
Cllr Alastair Rhind (Tain and Easter Ross) said: “I am so, so disappointed in the situation of our roads. The councillors are the ones who are getting the blame for potholes on social media. And I don’t see it as my fault really because we are reporting them to the council all the time and then they come out with a wee drop of wet tar put in it and the pothole is back in a few days.”
Cllr Carolyn Wilson (Cromarty Firth) said: “The tar does not stay in the hole for two or three days – I witnessed tar being put in a pothole recently and it was down for less than 12 hours.Then people come and stop us and complain about the tar on their cars, the waste of public money. I have been a councillor for over 20 years and we have had this conversation every single year.”
Roads operational manager Iain Moncrieff sought to defend the council’s approach.
He said that identifying the worst defects allowed the best value for money.
he said: “I would suggest that ward five (Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh) has the worst roads, in terms of the cost to repair them, than any other area or road in Ross and Cromarty.I appreciate you have less men, less plant, less money – there isn’t a Tain and Easter Ross budget, it is all Ross and Cromarty budget.
“Each year I come along and I explain how I set out my budget and it is based on the road length – every single councillor wants a different percentage, a higher percentage of the capital budget.”
Roads included in the next phase of planned work are:
450m of the U1991 Glen Glass Road 1, north-west of Redburn
90m of the U3963 St Duthus Place road in Tain
450m of the B9166 Fearn Junction
609m of the U1976 Darroch Brae Road, Alness
180m of the U1481 Seabanks road, Invergordon
1200m of the C1004 Mains of Arboll – Tarrel 1
Related: Highland Council recovery budget targets major investment
Pothole strewn roads 'putting lives at risk'
'Tackle potholes now while traffic is light' urges Easter Ross councillor
Mystery vandal shares feelings over Ross-shire potholes
