Potholes still a problem in Florence Road

Andrew Smith, the West Sussex county councillor for Chichester East, said he had counted more than 60 potholes of various shapes and sizes in Florence Road, even though it is a notorious area for their formation.

“One point to remember about Florence Road,” said Cllr Smith, “is that it is the road used by ambulances on the way to A&E from the Bognor direction.”

He added: “It is an important route that serves more than just the adjoining residential streets.”

With this in mind, he said it was incredible the road is not listed in the draft works programme for 2013/14 or 2014/15, and added it was something he was trying to rectify.

“The fact that the draft works programme omits Florence Road calls into question the integrity of the compilation of the schedule.”

Earlier this year, the state of the road sparked anger among readers, and the county council moved quickly to fix as many potholes on the road as possible.

This followed the period of heavy rain throughout the Christmas period.

At that point, a county council spokesman said: “Surface water has exacerbated the problem with existing potholes, as the water washes away loose particles of road surface whenever vehicles pass over them.”

At a cabinet meeting of West Sussex County Council on Tuesday, it was pointed out that the budget for the new financial year included a spending increase of 52.2 per cent on highway maintenance.

Cllr Smith has previously said the road needs resurfacing, and the state of the road has been a constant issue.

In June 2012, he said: “Last month I reported a number of potholes in Florence Road that were duly fixed. Already another new set have appeared.

“No doubt these will be repaired too.

“How many more potholes need to be reported for how many more months until the county council realises it would be more cost effective to resurface, and therefore seal the road?”

The county council has advised the time taken to fix potholes depends on the severity of the whole, with the time ranging from a couple of hours to waiting until the next road review.