Council to investigate newly resurfaced West Swindon roads that are 'melting'

There have been reports of potholes surfacing hours after roads have reopened, poor finishing, as well as the road surface becoming sticky in hot weather. 

Councillor Sean Wilson has been collating evidence of these defects revealing that a number of roads have been affected, such as Crawford Close, Godolphin Close/Uxbridge Road, Hampton Drive and Dexter Close. 

Fellow councillor Suresh Gattapur has also pushed the council to do something after one resident shared pictures on social media of a large clump of the road coming off and sticking to their car tyre.

Coun Wilson said: "The state of roads and pavements in Toothill, Freshbrook and Grange Park is appalling. They are unsafe for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.

"We welcome the resurfacing work but using cheap materials has left the streets in a mess. People's cars are covered in tarmac and new holes are reappearing.

"Long-suffering residents just want proper repairs to be done not quick bodge jobs," he added. 

Hampton Drive Photo: Facebook
The material used, a micro asphalt combined with slurry sealing, is designed to cut back on costs, but it has been blamed for the defects and other councils across the country have reported similar issues after using it for their road repairs.

South Gloucestershire Council announced that 21 sites were defective and Newbury Today reported several roads in Newbury and Hungerford had developed problems. 

Swindon Borough Council pledged that it will investigate the issues and that problems will be fixed. 

A spokesperson said: “We are aware of a few areas in Swindon where the use of Micro Asphalt in some road patching repairs has failed.

“This is not uncommon as the material has to be applied within an ideal temperature range and allowed to set for between four and six weeks. Problems occur when there are spikes in temperature during this period and this causes the material to take longer to cure and potentially cause localised failures.

“Our materials supplier and contractor are confident that most of the 21 sites treated with Micro Asphalt will be okay but, just to be sure, inspections will be carried out on all repairs to make sure they are up to standard. If any repairs are deemed to be defective, they will be repaired at the contractor’s expense.

“Any residents who have seen a road defect can report them on our website: www.swindon.gov.uk/potholes”

The Adver understands that Dexter Close has been inspected, and was found to be faulty.