Resident calls for action to fix one of Sidmouth’s worst roads

Manstone Close road surface. Ref shs 33-17TI 9481. Picture: Terry Ife (Image: Archant)

Bert Hague said it has been a terrible surface for more than a decade and that much more remedial work was needed to repair the channels that have been created.

The 76-year-old said the county council had tried to resurface the road but was told it would not help.

He said: “I realise that money is in short supply and the roads of Sidmouth have a low priority, but surely a line must be drawn.

“Every time you come down you have to really take care. It’s getting worse and worse; it looks unsightly.

“Nothing is going to get done unless someone makes a fuss.

“I think it would be number one of the worst roads in Sidmouth. You have these channels and it bottoms out and it bottoms your suspension if you are not careful.”

Councillor Stuart Hughes, who is the head of highways at Devon County Council, said the issue was ongoing with the county council’s lab team working to find a treatment.

Cllr Hughes said: “It is a concrete road and to make it look aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they put a coating of tarmac over the top of the concrete. What has happened in a couple of places is the tarmac has come up and it’s created cracks.

“We were going to do it. The contractor went in and said it’s going to bring everything else up, so we couldn’t do it, unfortunately. It may not be pleasing to the eye for residents but we are where we are and as soon as we can find a treatment that will be successful we will get on and do it.”