CONCERNED residents are calling for action to be taken to fix potholes outside their homes.

Homeowners in Carlton Gate, Broome Manor, have been complaining to the council for six years about the state of their road, which has not been resurfaced since it was built in the 1970s.

They have sent a petition signed by all 33 homeowners, written letters and spoken to the council, but the road surface has yet to be improved.

Chris Penney, chairman of Carlton Gate Residents Ltd, said: “The last time we spoke to the council was about six weeks ago.

“They said they had taken a look at it, but there was no money. Every time we have an AGM, one of the items is this road.

“The residents are getting quietly annoyed. We pay a lot of money to the council in rates.”

The road has not been resurfaced since the estate was built between 1975 and 1978.

Residents have also spoken to Coun Fionula Foley (Con, Old Town) about the issue.

“Coun Foley has been very helpful trying to find things out. She has tried as best she can, but still they won’t do anything,” said Chris.

“The road breaks off at the edges so there is gravel. The council does come occasionally and sweep it up.

“That was prompted by a paper boy who fell off his bike as he came up here last autumn. He couldn’t get up and one of the residents helped him. After that they started coming to brush the stuff up,” he said.

The residents’ company, which Chris is chairman of, takes care of the grass and foliage outside their homes, but the road falls under the council’s remit.

Suresh Panvalkar, who has lived in his house since it was built 34 years ago, said work needs to be carried out as soon as possible.

“If you look all around you can see it. Anybody who visits, the first thing they remark is ‘My goodness, look at the road’. Some of the holes are very deep, you can feel it when you drive over it,” he said.

“We have got young kids living around here and there have been one or two incidents where they tripped in the road. We handed a petition in a couple of years ago, but nothing happened.”

A Swindon Council spokesman said: “Carlton Gate is currently on our minor road maintenance backlog list, but given the concerns that have recently been raised our highways inspectors will go out to Carlton Gate to assess whether any urgent repairs need to be carried out.

“We maintain more than 800km of roads in the borough and we currently have over 440 minor roads on our repair backlog.

“Unfortunately, at present Carlton Gate is not currently considered a priority road for major resurfacing when compared to a number of other routes in Swindon.”