The revised Pothole Report It function, changed in the summer and part of a suite of Report It! options, on the RBWM website is excellent and the response is fantastic… make sure you use it… snap a couple of pics, or not, not essential… engineer will visit, do all the admin for you and then fill in the hole… HURRAH!
I reported the pothole above, and one on the other side of the Gallys Road, this week and within 24 hours it was filled in.
Excellent but please, to ensure we get the best value for money from this contract, make sure you use the service because the contractor is getting paid £750,000 extra for potholes whether we use it or not… and with the way the finances are, don’t waste the budget.
When I first became a Councillor and was checking through the online forms, the pothole form asked for measurements? So they want me to take my life in my own hands and measure a hole with a ruler while traffic drives around me… yeah right!
NOT ANYMORE… max this service…
Increasing the Pothole Budget was part of the Conservative Manifesto. So after the last election the Conservatives upped it from £2m to £2.75m. The Opposition challenged the decision by calling it into the Infrastructure Overview & Scrutiny Panel on the 18th June 2019.
The end result was, because the Conservatives chaired the meeting and had an extra vote they won the day… but you can read what was said, or listen to the recording, for yourself.
Da Costa proposed that the Call-in report be reviewed at Full Council. This was seconded by Councillor Baldwin. A vote took place but the Motion was unsuccessful. Two Councillors voted in favour of the Motion (Cllrs W. Da Costa and Baldwin), and three Councillors voted against the Motion (Cllrs Haseler, McWilliams and Singh).
A Second Motion for there to be no further action was proposed by the Chairman and was seconded by Councillor Haseler. The Motion was successful and it was agreed that no further action be taken. Three Councillors voted for the Motion (Cllrs Haseler, McWilliams and Singh), and two Councillors voted against the Motion (Cllrs W. Da Costa and Baldwin).
To repeat, the extra £750,000 will go to the contractor if you use it or not so please make sure you do to ensure we get the best value for money out of it.
Thank you.
Jon
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