Residents and cyclists tell of fury over 'dangerous' pothole-ridden lane
A Staffordshire community is being blighted by a pothole ridden lane that residents say is a 'danger' to residents and cyclists.
Shutt Green Lane, Brewood, is just under a mile long and leads to residential homes and Oakland Holiday Park.
Residents, visitors and staff at the park, which has 150 holiday homes, regularly complain about the state of the road and the dangers it creates.
Sarah Giles, from Oakland Holiday Park, said: "The road is full of potholes and is collapsing in parts. We are a family-run holiday park with over 150 holiday homes on site; the road also has residential homes on it.
"Both ourselves, our neighbours and our customers have regularly reported potholes to our council and we are yet to see anything done to rectify any of them."
She said vehicles were regularly damaged on the road after residents filled the bigger holes with rubble. Brewood, is an ancient parish but its roads are under the jurisdiction of Staffordshire County Council.
Sarah added: "Locals have used rubble to fill in some of the worst that have caused substantial damage to vehicles. At the start of this year, we also personally wrote to Sir Gavin Williamson, who is our local MP and the head of highways at our local council - still nothing is being done."
She added: "We have tried all other avenues and are now trying to explore different ways to get the council to mend this road, we bring lots of tourism to the area and our customers and neighbours deserve better."
Shutt Green Lane is home to several exclusive homes including Broom Hall which has been valued at over £1 million and other properties which set new owners back over £500,000.
Stafford cyclist Stephen Daniels said: "You take your life in your hands every time you ride down Shutt Green Lane.
"On paper the ride from Stafford to the holiday park is a simple short journey which I should do without a second thought, going to see a friend down there but I have started driving it instead, I might wreck the car but I wont get injured."
He added: "Everyone I speak to down there reckon they report potholes on the lane to South Staffordshire Council but nothing ever seems to get done."
Staffordshire County Council has a dedicated pothole team which prioritises the most dangerous first.
The council's website explains: "We prioritise all potholes so that the most dangerous ones are repaired either the next day or within seven days.
"The vast majority are given to specialist teams and will be repaired depending on location and road use, usually within 90 days however this may be extended depending on resources."
People can report a pothole to Staffordshire County Council by phoning 0300 111 8000 or online at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Highways/Problems-with-roads/Report-It-explained.aspx
A spokesman for Staffordshire County Council said: "While pothole and other road defect repairs need to be prioritised on location and severity, we do understand that for the person reporting the defect, it’s important to them and can be frustrating while they wait for repairs. However if it’s on our system we will get round to the repair – we’d just ask people to bear with us.
"Shutt Green Lane, due to its classification and traffic count, is inspected on annual basis and this is due to take place in the next two to three months."
The spokesman added: "The team has gone out to the lane to follow up on people’s reports over the last three months and risk assessed defects and prioritised their repair. We’re always grateful for reports on defects, which support the work of our highway inspectors."
