Thornbury residents demand road repairs (From Gazette Series)

Frustrated Thornbury residents demand road repairs from South Gloucestershire Council

11:15am Tuesday 28th February 2012 in News By Marion Sauvebois

AFTER years living on a street strewn with potholes and crater-like cracks, frustrated residents have hit out at council bosses for failing to fix the "worst road in Thornbury."

People living on Cheviot Drive called on the Gazette for help after, they said, their pleas to town officials fell on deaf ears.

They asked for the whole street to be resurfaced as it had become increasingly difficult and unsafe to drive through.

Clare Brady, who has been living on Cleveland Close, just off Cheviot Drive, for 14 years told the Gazette the neighbourhood’s attempts to get through to South Gloucestershire Council had been futile.

"There has been no action," she said. "There are so many shoddy patches and potholes it resembles the moon's cratered surface. Is Cheviot Drive the road with the worst surface in Thornbury? We think so."

She added: "Cheviot Drive leads onto Pentland Way and Cleveland Close, therefore it has daily traffic from three residential roads. The contrast between the quality of the road surface on Morton Way and that of Cheviot Drive is stark."

According to one of the residents, the road was originally laid over a stream running from the fields of Hackett Farm, across what is now Cheviot Drive, to a brook at the bottom of the hill. They allege water regularly spouts out from beneath the asphalt.

Mrs Brady added: "In heavy rain and stormy weather, the water spurts up through the road surface. We had a lot of rain recently and a big chunk came out of the road. People are very cautious driving on it."

However, it is not just the road residents are concerned with. Mrs Brady said the pavement was a safety hazard as well; her daughter tripped several times over one of its gaping holes.

She said: "The council patched it up but it's opening again because it was just another patch. That's the problem, the road has been patched and patched."

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: "We are aware of residents’ concerns about the road surface in Cheviot Drive and are grateful to them for bringing it to our attention.

"The road is inspected regularly in line with our safety inspection regime and successfully potholed and patched accordingly. Following the recent contact from residents we plan to visit Cheviot Drive in the coming weeks to re-inspect the road surface and will assess the need for any urgent further work."