Over 100 potholes in an unlit Builth Wells car park is ‘an accident waiting to happen’, council says
There are over 100 potholes in a Builth Wells car park and they are getting worse, the town council has been told
Town clerk Louise Hammond said there is no lighting up there and ‘it’s an accident waiting to happen’.
Last month Councillor Gwyn Davies said he and others came across ‘a few ankle breaker potholes’ in the Smithfield Road car park just before Christmas when they held the hugely successful tractor run event in the town.
He told the town council recently that a couple of people fell over and hurt themselves and because it was dark it was not possible to see the pot holes well.
He said he had been back since in daylight and some of the potholes are really quite bad.
The long stay car park for all vehicles is run by Powys County Council and they charge people to park there.
Mrs Hammond took some photographs of the pot holes and sent the information and pictures to the county council.
In a recent meeting, Mrs Hammond said she had spoken to highways officer Tony Caine and he had said they have a grading system for pot holes and when these pot holes were checked last year they were graded as two on the scale.
But he said now they would be graded as a four and they would try and get some money from next year’s budget to fill them in or re-surface the area.
“So hopefully we will see some action,” she said. The town council’s efforts were backed up by County Councillor Jeremy Pugh, who had also written to highways.
A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “We routinely assess the condition of all council‑managed car parks to help prioritise maintenance and resurfacing within the budgets available each year.
“When assessments were carried out last year, the Smithfield car park was rated in an acceptable condition. However, the most recent inspection shows that its condition has deteriorated and it is now categorised as requiring significant improvement.
“As with all capital works, decisions on resurfacing will be based on the latest inspection data and the level of funding allocated for the upcoming financial year. Recent severe weather has had a considerable impact on surfaces across the county, so we will review all sites again once budgets are confirmed to determine which can be included in the next programme of works.
“In the meantime, our inspectors will continue carrying out routine checks and will arrange any necessary remedial repairs to maintain safety.”
