Is this the worse road for potholes in Kent?

Riven with deep, water-filled potholes, the surface of the road is chequered where it has been patched up multiple times.

It's the main road to a doctors' surgery, leisure centre and schools, but Recreation Ground Road in Tenterden looks like an "off-road track".

Pictures were taken of the thoroughfare just two weeks after it had been "repaired" by Kent County Council highways' workers, showing the surface had quickly disintegrated.

Tenterden town councillor Sue Ferguson, who has declared war on potholes in the town, said: "Recreation Ground Road looks like an off-road track and soon only 4x4 vehicles will be able to get down it.

"You see cars on the road that literally bump up and down as they go along the road and it's made worse because there are speed humps.

"There are loose stones and bits of gravel along the pavement that have been thrown out from the potholes as cars go past.

"The state of the road is driving people in Tenterden nutty and I'm afraid that the 'repairs' that have just been carried out by KCC can't really be called that.

"They have been so badly done that it makes the county council a laughing stock."

Former London creative services manager, Richard Petch, took a tumble when crossing the road after a visit to Tenterden Leisure Centre gym.

He said: "I fell over crossing the road outside Ivy Court [surgery] flat on my face after tripping over a pothole after the gym.

"When I got up I had grazed my knee badly and I was bleeding as I had shorts on, plus my elbow and chin [were grazed] I really did wallop down."

Stephanie Hill described the road as "dangerous for people walking, especially with the school nearby".

There was criticism on the Jewel of the Weald Facebook page of housing firm Dandara whose trucks have been using the road to build its Church View development, part of Tent 1A.

The firm has undertaken to fix the road when its development is complete, but its work on houses behind the leisure centre is currently on hold until January 2021 and after that it will be 18 months before the site is likely to be finished.

A Dandara spokesman said that the firm had made repairs to Recreation Ground Road before, but its vehicles had not used it recently. "No Dandara traffic has been on the road for the last three months and this is Kent County Council's road so it's their responsibility."

The spokesman added that there were multiple users of the road, including construction traffic involved in the building of the extension to Ivy Court Surgery.

Cllr Ferguson said she had reported a further pothole at East Cross, Tenterden, so large that she captured a pedestrian's foot sinking into the crater, when she photographed it to send to KCC.

But she said: "I couldn't believe it when I got a standard reply back from KCC saying they had inspected the road and there was no problem."

A spokesman for KCC said: "Temporary repairs were made to dangerous potholes on Recreation Ground Road in February.

"Dangerous faults that pose an immediate risk of causing an accident are fixed within two hours.

"We appreciate that Recreation Ground Road needs to be resurfaced and the housing developer, using the road during construction, has agreed to do this, however, that cannot be done until the development has been completed.

"In the meantime we intend to do some patching of the road, which will require a road closure, though this needs to be planned carefully to ensure access to the leisure centre, doctors surgery, and school is not affected.

"Potholes not considered to be dangerous are placed into a programme and will be filled within 28 days, such as the one in East Cross.

"For emergency potholes we sometimes have to make an instant repair by quickly filling the hole to make the road safe but we schedule a full permanent repair to prevent potholes from forming in the future.

"We work hard to carry out the majority of our larger repairs during the summer when there is less rain, temperatures are more suitable for the materials we use and there is no salt present from winter gritting ensuring a longer lasting repair.”

Potholes on the A2 caused damage costing £700 to Gary Hunt's BMW, leading him to try and claim back the money from Highways England.

Residents in Broadstairs also called for "dangerous" potholes in Queens Road to be fixed before someone got hurt.

It was earlier reported potholes could be a thing of the past thanks to new high-tech road surfaces.

Kent, and seven other local authorities, will be part of a trial for new surfaces that will reduce potholes. The government was due to plough in £22.9 million to fund the research.

Have you seen worse? Let us know and send us your pictures to news@thekmgroup.co.uk

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