Action to be Taken on Potholes in Central Folkestone

11.35.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 13th Sep 2008

Folkestone Lib Dem campaigner Gary Fuller has received confirmation from Kent County Councillor Roland Tolputt that Kent Highways will take action on potholes in Central Folkestone. Gary received the confirmation four weeks after taking the County Councillor on a walking tour of the many damaged streets in the centre of the town.

Included in the Folkestone repair schedule will be repairs to Christchurch Road and hopefully the Parade, both of which have large numbers of potholes. There will also be temporary repairs to the roundabout at the corner of Castle Hill Avenue and Bouverie Road West ahead of a possible scheme during the next financial year.

Commenting, Harvey Central Folkestone Town Councillor Gary said:

"I'm really pleased that these repairs are going to take place. The roads in Central Folkestone desperately need repairing. My only concerns relate to the time frame, the increasing costs at Kent Highways and the desperate need for more to be done. Still, securing this commitment from Kent Highways is a good first step!"

The full text of the e-mail is below:

"I have at long last gone round the Ward with a KCC Highways Inspector, and list below what KCC proposes to do to remedy what we discussed on 14th August.

"Roundabout at junction of Castle Hill Avenue/Bouverie Road West - the holes will be patched temporarily, and funds permitting may include a scheme to resurface next financial year.

Christ Church Road - potholes will be filled in.

"Cheriton Gardens - pebble surface breaking up. KCC have a Highways definition map which should show who is responsible,and they are rechecking, but probably it is down to KCC. The broken lights and diffusers - KCC is checking whether these are down to KCC or Shepway or possibly even SAGA.

"The pavement at the corner of Kingsnorth Gardens/Castle Hill Avenue. KCC would like to prepare a small scheme to raise the kerb, retar the road and the footway. I await their response. The corner also tends to flood after heavy rain.

"Bouverie Square - missing dropped kerbs. KCC do not know who is responsible for painting the white lines, and wonder if the developers of the new Shopping centre were liable under a S106 agreement, as they repaired the roads in the vicinity of the new shops. I was told that there may be a scheme to update some pedestrian crossings in Sandgate Road, so hopefully this crossing could be included.

"The Parade: Next year KCC hope to apply a thin surfacing of Tarmac called grip fibre.

"At the present time KCC is having to recost all the current year's schemes due to rocketing costs, especially on street lighting, where the cost of metal nationally has soared, due to huge demand from India and China."