‘Please don’t resurface our road - it would be a waste of money’ - Residents along leaky lane tell council

Residents and a local councillor are urging the council not to resurface a south Shropshire road, as they say it will be a waste of money and time due to the number of times it is dug up to repair water leaks.

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Locals living between Broome and Aston on Clun near Craven Arms have seen their road dug up around a dozen times in different places over the last few years, due to an aging mains pipe that keeps springing leaks.

The leaks on Broome Road, which cause flooding and other issues, saw the villagers blast Severn Trent Water last year due to the number of times the firm has had to come and patch up the ageing pipes.

Severn Trent said at the time they “recognise the need for longer-term improvements” and added they had “plans for future investment in place”.

However, residents have learned that on April 24, Shropshire Council are planning to resurface the road, which is also riddled with pot holes, which the locals said would be a “pointless” and a “waste of money” for the cash-strapped authority.

Bernard Rose, who lives on Broome Road said: “It would be a waste of money and a pointless exercise. It was dug up five times the other year, and it has sprung two leaks this year already.

“If they resurface the road it’ll just be a matter of weeks before it has to be dug up again to fix another leak.

“The council needs to wait until the mains pipe, which is more than 100 years old, is replaced.”

He added that they have asked local councillor Josh Dickin to speak to the council and ask them to postpone the works.

Councillor Dickin confirmed he asked the leader of the council and portfolio holder responsible for roads to hold fire on the works and a decision as to whether to postpone them is to be made next week.

He added: “I’ve also asked Severn Trent if they plan to replace the mains along the entire stretch from Broome to Aston on Clun as it is all plagued with bursts.”

Severn Trent said there was currently no date to to replace the water main on Broome Road and they are working with the council.

A Severn Trent spokesperson added: “We understand the disruption leaks can cause, which is why we have made a number of improvements to the network over the last 12 months in Clun.

“This includes replacing and fitting new valves, repairing the network where necessary and carrying out regular maintenance checks to make it more resilient.”