Council chiefs faced a grilling at a public meeting over the hot topic of the state of the Island’s roads.

Kent Highways Swale district manager Alan Blackburn was at the Local Engagement Forum in Sheerness last Tuesday.

He gave an update on £530,000 worth of work which has been carried out in the last year.

This has included resurfacing in Broad Street, Sheerness, Warden Road, Eastchurch, Main Road, Queenborough, Medway Road, Sheerness, and Cliff Gardens, Minster, as well as footway work in Bayview Gardens, Bayview, Church Road, Eastchurch, and Warden View Gardens, Warden Bay.

Roads on the ‘to do’ list include Leysdown Road, Warden Road further along, Barton Hill Drive, Minster, Parsonage Chase, Minster, Harps Avenue, Minster, and New Road, Sheerness.

Chalk Road, Queenborough, was also mentioned and Cllr Mick Constable asked whether it was for flooding as there is an issue even when there is only a bit of rain.

Trevor and Lorna Blackley, who live in the road, added that the exhaust on their car fell off as the potholes are so bad. They estimate there are about 20 of them – and they are getting bigger.

After the Times Guardian contacted Kent Highways, a spokesman said an inspection will be carried out and appropriate action taken if a safety issue is identified.

Cllr Constable said Whiteway Road also floods. He said it was pointless resurfacing it around four years ago as the flooding issue needed sorting first and now it has cracked again.

Sheerness high street was also discussed. Cllr Steve Worrall has been campaigning to have it fixed for three years.

“It’s an awfully long time to wait and people are fed up with it – three years is a reasonable time to get something done,”he said.

Drainage works, which are supposed to be happening in July, need to be completed before resurfacing from the clock tower to Millennium Way can be completed. But Mr Blackburn was unable to give a date and added he can not defend the time it has taken.

A major issue for many is The Broadway in Minster.

The meeting heard money has been set aside but until a report is completed, no date about what will happen or when can be given.

Cllr Ken Pugh said: “I feel like it’s going to go on and on and suspect it’s going to be a very difficult thing to solve.

“We just need to know what the solutions are, even if we have to wait.”

Another issue he raised is Clarence Row in Sheerness – the road that runs by the tennis courts near the leisure centre.

He added: “We are trying to uplift Sheerness as a holiday destination and yet that road is in disrepair and the adjacent footpath is very unsafe.”

Eastchurch high street has a drainage problem at the crossing and parish councillor Mike Brown said it is something they have been complaining about for a decade.

A resident at the meeting said the situation round the junction of New Road and Railway Road where it goes into Broad Street in Sheerness is an accident waiting to happen.

He believes there should be double yellow lines put in around the junction to prevent lorries and cars stopping there.

He said commuters often leave their vehicles to walk to the train station and added it can be very dangerous when two lorries are trying to get in or out of the road, especially as it is near St Edward’s Primary School.

A Highways spokesman said it was unclear if an application had been formally submitted for lines in the road but directed residents to its website if they want to apply for waiting restrictions.

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Q&A session

• Pete Giffen, who runs O.So.U in Sheerness, asked why when there is a crack in the york stone paving, it is replaced with asphalt. He said the pavement is like a patchwork quilt of different materials. Mr Blackburn explained they have a duty to replace it as soon as possible for safety and the asphalt is a temporary repair. It is allowed to remain there for a maximum of 12 months but must then be replaced with york stone.
• Another resident didnt give his name raised the issue of the entrance to the Trinity Place car park in Sheerness. He said it is in a terrible state of repair which is not helped by delivery lorries driving over the kerb. He queried whether it is privately owned or council-owned as there are yellow lines and a loading bay. Mr Blackburn said he believed it was in private ownership but would check.
• Cllr Angela Harrison wanted to know how long residents should expect to wait for repairs once white lines are painted round potholes. Mr Blackburn explained Highways would usually expect to have these done within four to five weeks, but admitted there may be delays because they are currently running a ‘find and fix’ project, which involves a post-winter blitz on potholes.
• The quality of the repairs was brought up by a number of people. They said work is often carried out to fill potholes but then they just open up again. Mr Blackburn said Kent Highways monitors 7% of all work done by contractors and if it does not like it, it does not pay for it and the contractors come back and repair it at their own cost. With utilities such as water and gas companies, 10% of work is monitored.
• A dip in Barton Hill Drive, Minster, was noted as being extremely dangerous and Mr Blackburn said it is something they are aware of and intending to fix.