'Danger' Shropshire road to be assessed, say council chiefs
A village that residents fear will become "an island" if the two main roads into it are not repaired will be assessed by Shropshire Council this month.
Shropshire Councillor for Highley, Dave Tremellen, said he had been asking Shropshire Council to repair the main roads in and out of the village for a number of years, and he is afraid that part of one road will end up in a brook if nothing is done.
Councillor Tremellen labelled New Road "dangerous".
He said: "It's a dangerous road. There are four areas of New Road, and two big splits in the road.
"I've been on to the council for at least four years, since then the roads have just got progressively worse. This whole area is riddled with geological faults because it's a mining area. Once it has started to split it doesn't stop, it gets worse."
Now, Shropshire Council has said the site is not within current plans for resurfacing, however it will be assessed independently this month to be considered for future works.
Steve Brown, Shropshire Council's highways, transport and environmental maintenance commissioning manager, said: "Shropshire Council consider roads for resurfacing based on our countywide asset management prioritisation process.
"This assesses highway condition data, and also how much reactive maintenance has been undertaken on a given section of road – for example pothole repairs.
"This site does not fall within our future plan for resurfacing at present; however, it is in the process of being assessed independently, in order to be considered for a future works programme. The assessment should be complete by the end of April 2017."
The news comes after Councillor Tremellen and a resident spoke out about their concerns about the road and frustration that nothing had been done.
Resident Naomi Hindley said she feared the village could soon become "an island" if the routes are not made safe.
The 48-year-old said damage to her daughter's tyres because of the bumps in the road had run into hundreds of pounds.
"Highley is going to be a little island. We're out on a limb here in Highley," she added. "I would like them to stop looking at it and fix it."
