Teignbridge roads branded ‘disgrace’ after days of heavy rain cause pothole crisis

The state of roads in some parts of South Devon is a ‘disgrace’ after what has been described as ‘40 days and 40 nights of heavy rain’.

Members of Teignbridge Council decided against sending a broadside to Devon County Council deploring the state of the district’s roads and asking them to define what they meant by a pothole.

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They decided County Hall had better things to do with its time than measure potholes, but did not hold back in criticising the county council’s approach to the pothole problem.

Cllr Phil Bullivant (Con, Bradley) proposed the motion, saying: “The current deteriorating state of roads in Teignbridge is a disgrace, with numerous areas affected by significantly increasing numbers of potholes.

“The marked deterioration seen, with many old repairs failing and delays in rectifying new issues on major and minor routes throughout Teignbridge, demonstrates a failure of Devon County Council contractors to provide a professional and lasting solution.”

He said he had drawn up his motion before the ‘deluge’ in January. There were 8,000 miles of roads in the county, he added, and the county was just putting a ‘sticking plaster’ over the problem.

But council leader Richard Keeling (Lib Dem, Chudleigh) said years of underfunding were behind the problem, and that the county council was spending millions of pounds on repairs.

Cllr Martin Wrigley (Lib Dem, Dawlish North East) told the full council meeting: “Forty days and 40 nights of heavy rain has not helped, but this is a historic problem due to long-term neglect of basic maintenance.

“This is a government problem, and the message should go to them rather than to Devon County Council.”