Council plans to tackle Worthing’s Tarmac patches

CONTRACTORS could be charged for digging up pavements in a bid to make black Tarmac patches in Worthing town centre a thing of the past.
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West Sussex County Council hopes to encourage contractors to properly repair pavements, instead of leaving the unsightly temporary Tarmac fixes.

The patches were daubed with the county council’s complaints department phone number in October, in a protest by Worthing journalist Paul Holden over the lack of repairs.

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A report in tomorrow’s full council meeting tomorrow reads: “In future the proposed permit scheme for street works will provide the county council with greater influence over the reinstatement of utility companies and will require firms to pay a permit fee every time the highway is excavated, providing an incentive to ‘get it right first time’.”

Officers have visited the town centre to identify the defects, which will be challenged with those responsible.

The affected streets have been recorded in a central database, which can be accessed by utility companies.

Mr Holden said he was ‘delighted’ to see the issue finally being taken seriously.

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He said: “Michael Cloake (county councillor for Worthing Pier) has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to get this matter on the agenda.

“Worthing is sick of being treated as a second class town by County Hall, which receives, annually, more than £41 million from Worthing taxpayers.

“However, the county council has so far failed to address the issue of historic Tarmac patching which continues to blight our precincts.”

The county council added it was intended in future that the highways contractor will keep a stock of materials to ensure that first-time repairs can be completed without the need for temporary repairs.

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