Closed
60 deep depressions and / or potholes now present in Slicketts Lane
Reported in the Blocked drain category anonymously at 19:28, Wed 5 February 2020
Sent to Buckinghamshire Council 2 minutes later. FixMyStreet ref: 1981489.
The last few days of fine weather have revealed a little more of the road surface from under the flooding in Slicketts Lane, my partner and I have inspected the entire length of the lane prior to the expected heavy weather forecast for the weekend.
We counted no less than 60 very deep depressions and / or potholes in Slicketts Lane mostly in the section of the lane where the dwellings are sited.
As mentioned previously there are also deep deposits of mud and silt along the entire length of the lane and with the expected heavy rainfall forecast for the weekend the situation will only get worse.
Updates
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Thank you for your report which is currently under review.
We will investigate this and if you have provided an email address, we respond to you within 10 working days.
We will continue to update you by email (if provided) when your report reaches key stages.
IMPORTANT: To report anything dangerous, please call us on: 01296 382416 (09:00 – 17:30 Mon-Thurs, 09:00 – 17:00 Friday) or 01296 486630 (out of hours and weekends).
Regards
Transport for BuckinghamshirePosted by Buckinghamshire Council at 19:30, Wed 5 February 2020
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Thank you for your report.
This has been added to our programme of works. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with a timescale for this work to be carried out, we work on a priority based risk matrix in line with our Highway Inspection Policy and therefore programme times can change due to priority based working.
Please be assured this is on our list of works to be carried out, we will continue to monitor all defects to ensure the safety of our residents as part of our Highways Inspection Policy which can be accessed via the link below;
www.buckscc.gov.uk/highwaysinspectionpolicy
Regards
Transport for BuckinghamshireState changed to: Action scheduled
Posted by Buckinghamshire Council at 09:22, Thu 6 February 2020
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Still open, via questionnaire, 22:10, Wed 4 March 2020
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Buckinghamshire County Council has finally had a chance to leave the other high priority road issues to attend to some of the issues present in Slicketts Lane.
The blocked drains have been jet cleaned and the pipe work inspected using an under ground camera system, a partially collapsed drain has been identified for repair at a later date.
Most of the deepest potholes have been filled in as a temporary repair but the lane is still clogged by thick deposits of mud and detritus and the road surface undulates and is breaking up in many places.
Posted anonymously at 09:55, Thu 2 April 2020
Still open, via questionnaire -
With regard to the road repairs, Matt Whincup of BCC was hoping to get their Velocity patching machine in this week to repair what’s left of the potholes and seal up the recent temporary repairs by means of overlaying. the road sweeper was to be sent in firstly to suck up all the loose stone, silt and filth prior to the Velocity patching work. These works were not carried out this week which may have been due to the weather conditions or other constraints so the time frame for the completion of these works is a little vague.
Posted anonymously at 15:43, Thu 30 April 2020
Still open, via questionnaire -
This email has been sent to Greg Smith MP following the fiasco in Slicketts Lane when repairs were scheduled two days ago on the 26th May 2020.
Dear Mr Smith,
While I understand that you attention could be focused on the coronavirus pandemic at the moment I must bring another matter to your attention and ask for your assistance once again.
I first wrote to you in February this year to bring to your attention the appalling condition of the road surface and drainage issues in Slicketts Lane Edlesborough LU62JD.
My partner and I are retired people and we were prevented from leaving our property when the standing in the lane water froze during the winter months and the lane was like a skating rink.
Following your intervention the drains were eventually cleaned and the flooding issues have been resolved.
Two days ago the Lane was cleaned with a road sweeper the first time in 40 years we are told by our neighbours but I can only say for sure the first time I have seen this machine in the lane for the 2 years that I have resided here.
Now we come to the important subject, the repairs to the road surface. Please see below the copy of an email received from Cllr Chris Poll dated April 22 2020.
----- Original Message ----- From: Cllr Chris Poll To: Wight, Anne - (County Councillor) ***************** Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2020 10:59 AM Subject: Re: [EXTERNAL] Slicketts Lane
Hello Mr ***********.
Slicketts Lane is scheduled for Velocity patching and when done it will leave the road in a much better condition and pothole free. Please see the response from Matt regarding Slicketts lane. I do hope it answers your enquiry satisfactorily.
"I am very pleased to hear reports back from Mr ********* that the drainage clearance was successful and performed well during the recent heavy downpour. With regard to the road repairs, I am hoping to get our Velocity patching machine in next week to repair what’s left of the potholes and seal up the recent temporary repairs by means of overlaying. I will be sending in a road sweeper to suck up all the loose stone, silt and filth prior to the Velocity patching work. Next week is not confirmed yet, so please keep the time frame vague. I did explain to Mr ************ on site that the velocity patching repairs will not resolve any of the issues with dips and undulations in the road surface.
Defects are only causing very minor ponding which in the grand scheme of things is not an issue. I appreciate this may cause a slip hazard during freezing conditions as there is no footway for pedestrians. However we realistically cannot provide a billiard table surface on carriageways such as this".
Please do get back in touch if you need to.
Kind regards, Chris Poll.
The repairs made to the road surface using the Velocity Patching machine in Slicketts Lane but 2 days ago were wholly inadequate and have not repaired many areas where the road surface is still breaking up. One of the attached photos shows an area that was patched up using the Velocity Patching machine but this repair failed the very next day, other photos show areas identified for repair by Matt Whincup of BCC that were not repaired. Going back to the email from Cllr Poll I refer to the comment “I appreciate this may cause a slip hazard during freezing conditions as there is no footway for pedestrians. However we realistically cannot provide a billiard table surface on carriageways such as this".
From my point of view Matt Whincup a Buckinghamshire County Council (BCC) official has identified a serious “slip hazard” but having mentioned this in writing he has done nothing to repair the road surface to make it safe for the ageing residents of Slicketts Lane to use the lane during the winter months. I do not want a “a billiard table surface on carriageways such as this” just a road surface that is safe to use year round to access my property in the absence of a pedestrian footpath. Time and time again I am told by BCC that repairs to Slicketts Lane are low priority, there will always be other sites that will need attention so this is why the Lane needs to be repaired properly just once then BCC can forget about Slicketts Lane for years. It has become plain to me that the quick fix option using the Velocity Patching machine is not suitable to repair this Lane and that the road surface needs to be completely replaced. Buckinghamshire County Council has a duty of care to me and ignoring a potential slip hazard that has been identified by a BCC official is not acceptable and only proper road surface repairs can prevent potential accidents. Could you please take up this matter again with BCC and ask them to make proper repairs to Slicketts Lane that last longer than one day and replace the road surface where necessary to prevent standing water and the associated issues during the winter months. Yours sincerely, ******** * ********
CC Cllr Chris Poll CC Cllr Anne Wight
Posted anonymously at 22:29, Thu 28 May 2020
Still open, via questionnaire -
I have nothing to add further to what is written above as the situation remains unresolved to date.
Posted anonymously at 09:02, Fri 26 June 2020
Still open, via questionnaire -
The best update that I can leave is a copy of my complaint sent to my MP Greg Smith that remains unresolved to date, please see below.
To: "KELLY, Ian" <ian.kelly@parliament.uk> Subject: Re: Correspondence for Greg Smith MP: Your Inquiry Regarding Potholes in Edlesborough
Dear Mr Kelly,
All of the photos attached to the 3 separate emails were taken the day after Matt Whincup and his team attended Slicketts Lane to repair the road surface, the file names of these photos describes the photo content.
My main concern is that Matt Whincup stated in his email to Cllr Chris Poll that "With regard to the road repairs, I am hoping to get our Velocity patching machine in next week to repair what’s left of the potholes and seal up the recent temporary repairs by means of overlaying" but this was not carried out because it was not possible to do so using the velocity patching machine.
The photos clearly show that areas identified for repair by Matt Whincup that were not repaired because of the limitations of the velocity patching machine.
I also do not think it acceptable for Matt Whincup to identify a risk factor "I appreciate this may cause a slip hazard during freezing conditions as there is no footway for pedestrians. However we realistically cannot provide a billiard table surface on carriageways such as this" then do nothing to rectify the issue.
The email sent to me by Cllr Poll that contains Matt Whincup's observations concerning winter slip hazards has been copied to the public domain to assist any cases of litigation should someone slip and fall in the winter months because to identify a slip hazard then do nothing to resolve it is in my opinion nothing short of negligence.
The actual size of the remaining pot holes is not the issue, the problem is that the road surface is still breaking up in many places and one of the repairs carried out by Matt Whincup and his team failed the very next day the undulating road surface collects standing water that is a documented slip hazard during the winter months.
Nothing short of replacing the road surface will be sufficient to make the Lane safe during the winter months in the absence of a pedestrian footpath.
My neighbours and I all pay Council Tax & Road Fund Licence so we do not think it unreasonable to have safe pedestrian access to our properties throughout the year and if Buckinghamshire County Council are not prepared to provide a safe road surface will they be reducing the cost of the Council Tax accordingly?
I trust that this additional information will be of assistance to you when you contact Buckinghamshire Council’s Transport Team.
Many thanks to you for your assistance with this ongoing fiasco.
Yours sincerely,
* * ****
Posted anonymously at 17:49, Fri 24 July 2020
Still open, via questionnaire -
The situation concerning the road surface in Slicketts Lane remains more or less the same as stated above only the deepest potholes have been filled in and a few areas have been resurfaced using the Velocity patching machine.
Many of the areas identified for repair by Matt Whincup have not been repaired and the undulating road surface still collects areas of standing water also identified by Matt Whincup as a potential slip hazard during the winter months.
This road surface issue has been escalated to Greg Smith once again but nothing has been done by BCC to improve the situation in the lane, BCC seems to think that ignoring the Issues in Slicketts Lane will make them go away but I guarantee they will not..
The residents of Slicketts Lane still get appalling value for money when you consider the amount of council tax and road fund licence paid.
Posted anonymously at 16:20, Sat 22 August 2020
Still open, via questionnaire -
Still open, via questionnaire, 19:55, Sat 19 September 2020
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FixMyStreet is being updated in Buckinghamshire to improve how problems get reported.
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All of your reports will have been received and reviewed by Buckinghamshire but, if you believe that this issue has not been resolved, please open a new report on it.
Thank you.
State changed to: Closed
Posted by Buckinghamshire Council at 14:19, Fri 24 December 2021
This report is now closed to updates from the public. You can make a new report in the same location.