By ROBERT GIBSON rgibson@cngroup.co.uk

Published at 07:42, Wednesday, 30 January 2013

IN East Tynedale, Ovingham has been among the worst affected, with Horsley Road being the village’s current pothole hotspot.POTHOLES are making life dangerous for motorists in South Tynedale.THE bank leading to Westlands, in Bellingham, has been riddled with potholes for years – yet nothing has been done about it.DESPITE being the main route to Scotland, the A68 is littered with potholes for a stretch between Otterburn and Woodburn.IN Corbridge, parish councillors have formed a special sub-committee, which began bi-monthly meetings with staff from Northumberland County Council’s highways department to relay the key concerns of villagers directly.DESPITE work being undertaken on the main roads in Hexhamshire, councillors are still reporting problems on minor routes.

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Parish councillor, Phil Holden, who once made films of Ovingham’s potholes for inspection by Northumberland County Council, said some were around two feet long and four inches deep.

In Heddon-on-the-Wall, meanwhile, potholes are “all over the place”, according to parish council chairman, Ian Armstrong, who claimed Trajan Walk, the B6528, Heddon Banks and areas around Towne Gate were among the worst hit.

“It’s really dangerous in places,” he said.

And the stretch of road between Gilsland and the A69, at The Shawfield, has been described as “absolutely disgraceful” by Coun. Alan Sharp, the Northumberland County Council representative for Hadrian.

Coun. Sharp is also calling for urgent repair work on the road between Beltingham and Ridley Hall.

He said: “It is absolutely disgraceful and it is very dangerous at The Shawfield. Those are the two worst areas in my ward, but I must stress that the B6318 between Gilsland and Greenhead is also in a bad way.”

The ride has become a bumpy one due to the conditions and county councillor John Riddle wants the problem fixed.

He said: “There are absolutely loads of potholes in Bellingham and it is hard to identify one particular area. But I have had loads of complaints about the condition of the bank up to Westlands. I think it should be more of a priority because it is well used.”

Otterburn Parish Council chairman Coun. John Hartshorne said the area was a real concern to many, especially as the problem had escalated in recent times.

He said: “There are quite a lot of potholes on the A68 and they are quite bad, which is quite concerning as it is a major road.

“On that stretch, quite a lot have developed there and the bad thing is that, once they start, they spread quite quickly.”

“We started this in December and the first meeting was with Amanda Cryer, the area maintenance manager,” explained Coun. David Walton. “They will cover everything to do with highways, but as you can imagine, potholes were high on the agenda.”

One of the blackspots in the village is the deteriorating road surface on Middle Street, which councillors say is gradually breaking.

Coun. Walton added: “The whole surface of the road is just crumbling and it’s visible for a long stretch until it ends in a pothole next to the bakery.”

Among them are a number of potholes on Hill Road by Letah Wood.

Local parish councillor Peter Trevelyan, who was tasked last year with mapping the potholes around the parish, said: “They have successfully cleared the main roads and done pothole filling but the byways have been left.

“There are a lot of holes on the steep slope by the woods and there is no way of avoiding them. It is very dangerous due to the bank and drop on the other side.”

In Slaley, parish councillors have reported problems with a severe pothole on the B6306 Hexham to Slaley Road at Dipton Cut to the county council since June last year to no avail. It has slowly been getting worse.

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk