Hertfordshire County Council bosses have said that they are ‘disappointed’ after a pensioner took court action to get potholes filled. A judge has ordered Hertfordshire County Council to repair roads in Hemel Hempstead and Berkhamsted after Derek Bennett, 68, took legal proceedings, says the BBC.
Mr Bennett, of Bank Mill Lane, Berkhamsted, complained that six roads were in a “dire” state and encouraged others to make similar moves, but council bosses, who consented to the order, described the issue as “routine maintenance” and said there were simpler ways of letting staff know about potholes.
“We’re disappointed that this routine maintenance issue has resulted in legal proceedings being issued,” a council spokesman told the BBC. “We had already repaired three of these roads before this court hearing, and we have already scheduled repair work to the others.
“There are much quicker and simpler ways of letting us know about potholes.”
The spokesman encouraged people to report potholes via the council’s online system, describing it as the “quickest and most efficient way”.
Judge Andrew Johnson made the order at St Albans Crown Court on Thursday after Bennett, a retired construction project manager, took action using section 56 of the 1980 Highways Act.
The judge said the council had not responded to Bennett’s application in the “proper manner”, adding that the three remaining roads – London Road and Ivy House Lane in Berkhamsted, and Redbourn Road in Hemel – had to be mended within 20 working days.
A barrister representing the council at the hearing agreed to that timetable.
“The pothole situation in Britain has been described as a national disgrace,” Mr Bennett said. “And rather than complaining on social media, or generally making a noise about it, we would be much better advised to simply submit the application under section 56, which is open and free of charge for anyone to do.”
He added applications could be dealt with by magistrates or Crown Court judges, depending on the progress of cases.
(Picture: Paul Hutton/Highways News)
