It isn’t April Fool’s Day but it has bee reported that to help fix one of the biggest complaints about highways in Essex, parish councils could be allowed to fill in potholes using materials from hardware stores.

According to Essex Live, the idea from a former parish council chairman comes after Essex County Council declared a pothole emergency and with it another £7.5 million investment in highways maintenance for 2026/2027. The new Reform administration’s commitment comes after it inherited a gross budget of
£174 million for highways maintenance for 26/276 from the previous Conservative group.

Potholes are consistently among residents’ biggest complaints to the council. In March, Bernard Jenkin, Conservative MP for Harwich and North Essex, notably highlighted problems of two huge potholes causing concerns in Brightlingsea and Fordham.

But allowing parish councils to fill in potholes before they get big could save time, money and potential damage to vehicles, one former parish councillor who did not wish to be named, believes. He said:

“My idea is for a parish council initiative to fill the smaller potholes in rural roads.

“These holes, up to 50mm deep, can be successfully filled with cold lay tarmac. This has an air-hardening resin binder and macadam and works perfectly well. I have filled holes in our private road that have lasted over ten years.

“The idea is that Essex could fund the parishes for the materials. This is not exorbitant, as a bag of cold lay is around £13 from hardware stores. The only tools needed would be a tamper and a traffic stop go paddle to control traffic which are both inexpensive.”

(Picture: Kevin Borras/Highways News)