Hazle-well what a lot of potholes...

Although they don't come close to the danger of the pothole in Princes Way I reported yesterday, Hazlewell Road in West Putney is in a shocking state of neglect.

There were five separate potholes just in that part between Genoa Avenue and Gwendolen Avenue - and it's even more extraordinary that Conservative councillors are ignorant of this as two of them live just a couple of streets away!













Again, there is no excuse for the Conservatives allowing our streets to decay to this extent: no wonder people think they need four-wheel drive cars in central London if our roads are beginning to resemble dirt tracks. I've said it before but keeping our streets maintained is one of the basic competences of any local council, but in Tory Wandsworth's case it's a basic incompetence.

The Conservatives have tested the theory to destruction that patching our roads intermittently - patches that last sometimes just a few weeks - is any substitute for a proper road resurfacing programme, which every other borough I'm familiar with has. Other boroughs like Westminster have low council tax but their streets aren't in the state Putney's are. So there really is no excuse other than they can't be bothered - and that's just not good enough.

How dangerous is this?

I've been critical of the Conservative Council's abysmal failure to maintain Putney's roads - a problem caused by their decision to cut the highways budget by one third last year. But this pothole in Princes Way goes beyond just carelessness - it is negligence.

The reason I'm singling this pothole out is because it's right over the drain sump or catchbasin - so it's not just a crater in the road, it's a three or four foot drop. This part of Princes Way is within fifty metres of Southmead School, it's right by the 39 and 493 bus stop and its within a few feet of the Ackroydon shops in Montfort Place; one of the busiest parts of a densely-populated area.

The point is that if a child, old person or anyone else for that matter were to mis-step they would easily break their ankle - or worse due to this crater.

I raised my concerns about the state of Princes Way back in November last year. The Council didn't reply until 27 January (though the letter's dated 13 January, so why it took two weeks to get from Wandsworth to Putney I don't know) and this is what they said then:



I reported this specific problem to the Council back on 9th March. I failed to get a reply. I reported it again on Tuesday, 21 April - still no reply. Yesterday I took the photo above.

I think we've all given the council quite a lot of slack because of the extra problems the snow in January caused. But we're three months on and any organised council would have been able to deal with their road maintenance backlog by now. That this council thinks such a major hazard can be ignored is a real concern.

And that happens just to be the worst of the council's neglect of Princes Way: these are all potholes in the stretch between Castlecombe Drive and Augustus Road.

Stuart vs the potholes round 27

I've tried to resist resurrecting my campaign to shame the Conservative Council into fixing Putney's potholed roads after last year's successes, but I'm getting so many complaints again that it's unavoidable.

The Conservatives have just announced that from the next financial year they're increasing the road repair budget by £1 million. Sounds great, doesn't it - except that this is the amount they chopped from it last year! And they weren't maintaining our roads competently even before the now-reversed cut. Still, it's better than nothing, but they've got a lot of roads to repair.

Here are the first few examples I've been sent or come across myself:


Amerland Road



Amerland Road - junction of Valonia Gardens



Daylesford Avenue - junction with Langside Avenue and Lantern Close. Daylesford Avenue has been in a state for a while, but the cold winter we've just had has really finished it off...Langside and Dungarvan aren't in the best nick either.


Dryburgh Road at the apex of the bridge over the railway: one I reported last summer which the council still hasn't fixed! Proof for the Tories that ignoring a problem doesn't make it go away...in fact it multiplies: here's another one right next door to that crater!:



And while it's good to see some of the roads we highlighted last Summer having been properly resurfaced, like Borneo and Blackett Streets off Hotham Road, not doing so well is next door Westhorpe Road!:

What is it with Putney Bridge?

A few weeks ago I highlighted the appalling state of Putney Bridge; in particular the bus lane, which had simply disintegrated. Wandsworth Council - who are responsible for Putney Bridge - got onto that one a good deal faster than they've dealt with some of the other potholes around the constituency - and the bridge was resurfaced.

But whether they used the wrong sort of tarmac, or there's some underlying erosion within the bridge, or their contractors aren't up to the job, there are already potholes in the new road surface, exacerbated by today's heavy rainfall.

Yes, a bus lane carries heavier vehicles than the rest of the bridge generally - but equally it is a far less used lane. There is no reasonable reason why newly-laid tarmac should last just a couple of months before needing to be repaired.

Putney Bridge disintegrates

Today's wet weather has washed away large chunks of the long-eroding surface on Putney Bridge - again the responsibility of Wandsworth's neglectful Conservative council.









The road surface here has been worn down for months and the bus lane had become warped; almost like waves of tarmac. Signs of erosion were already in evidence right across the bridge, and as usual the council had either ignored them entirely, or splodged a few dollops of tarmac into them in the mad hope that this would somehow substitute for competent road maintenance. It's simply not good enough for the Council to lay down metal sheets because they're too miserly to keep the bridge in good shape.

The Bridge is an icon of Putney: it presents our area to the rest of the world, so the state it's kept in by the council has even more of an impact than the (in itself unacceptable) neglect of residential backstreets. Just as with our grubby, run-down High Street, the Conservatives are evidently quite happy for people to get the impression that Putney is a shabby, neglected area in which no pride is invested.

That may be true of the council - but I know it isn't true of the residents.

UPDATE: Even this council seems to believe that the state of the Bridge is unacceptable as tonight the bus lane has been cordoned off. Whether that is for essential roadworks or for the Police traffic census they've been conducting all day today we'll have to wait and see.

Pothole of the week: 30 June 2008

The Conservative Council doesn't discriminate in its neglect of our roads: whether you live in Putney, Roehampton or Southfields all their roads are thoroughly run down.

This example is from the Alton Estate: Tangley Grove, which is off Danebury Avenue. What's even more remarkable about the Tories' neglect of the roads around here is that the foundation of the roads on the Alton are actually giant slabs so it should take even more neglect to allow them to fall into this condition than with more traditional road surfaces.

The so-called public representatives responsible for this neglect are Putney Conservative MP Justine Greening and Roehampton's three (or is that two?) Conservative Councillors.

It's working!

Kingsmere Road...................................... Hotham Road

The other day I spotted that one of the potholes I'd flagged up on this website - in Kingsmere Road in West Hill - had finally been patched by the Council. Success Number One.

On Saturday, the Hotham Road potholes had also been patched - though large chunks of this street need a proper resurfacing, not just a slapdash patching. But success Number Two, none-the-less.

These happen to be two of the earliest potholes I flagged up on this website and while the Tory Councillors will of course deny any relationship between our naming and shaming exercise and them finally getting their act together, I leave you to determine the reality.

Far too many roads remain in a disgraceful state, so if the Council thinks filling-in one or two potholes is going to make us back off and leave them alone, they've got another thing coming. Putney Heath and Victoria Drive in particular remain in a completely unacceptable condition so if I have to publish five, ten, twenty or one hundred potholes a week before they get the point, so be it.

One of the reasons it's important to have a Labour MP is because your Conservative representatives (every single one of Putney's councillors, and your MP, are Conservatives) simply will not stand up for their local patch. I will - and as you see, I get results.

Pothole of the week: 27 June 2008

Werter Road, which runs off Putney High Street along to Oxford Road (or vice versa as it's a one-way street!). Generally this road is in pretty good nick - though the bit around Sainsburys is decaying rapidly, but even in the few road surfaces in Putney that aren't falling apart you come across potholes like this.

The representatives responsible for this example of neglect are Putney Conservative MP Justine Greening and her three Thamesfield ward Conservative Councillors: Edward Lister (the Council leader), Jim Maddan and Rosemary Torrington.

Pothole of the week: 23 June 2008

You're sending me so many photos of Putney's potholed roads that pothole of the week is now going to be published twice a week for the forseeable future.

Last week I exposed the dreadful state of Rotherwood Road on this blog and alluded to the fact that neighbouring roads weren't much better.

Well, here's the evidence. Let's start with Putney Embankment itself - this just past the junction of Festing Road (and thanks to putneysw15 discussion forum contributors for the heads-up on this one):



Adjoining Rotherwood Road is Bendemeer Road:



And off Bendemeer Road is Gladwyn Road:



Finally (for this batch, at least) the road after Bendemeer Road towards Putney Bridge is Glendarvon Road:

Rotherwood bother

I know I'm only supposed to be doing a pothole post once a week (next one on Monday, incidentally), but just look at the state of Rotherwood Road. The thing that makes Rotherwood Road stand out - and be under no illusions that all the riverside roads in this area are in a thoroughly disgraceful state - is that it's potholed along its entire length, which is a remarkable feat even for this neglectful council.

The elected representatives responsible for this sorry excuse for a road surface are Putney Conservative MP Justine Greening and the three Conservative councillors for Thamesfield ward. I have to ask, given that Thamesfield has the highest number of potholed roads in Putney: what is the benefit of having the Leader of the Council representing your area? Maybe he needs to spend a little more time with his ward?

Here are five photos of Rotherwood Road, running from the Putney Embankment end up to Lower Richmond Road:

Putney pothole of the week: 16th June 2008

In fact, three of them in quick succession, this time in Westleigh Avenue as it slopes down toward Solna Avenue, before climbing back up to Granard Avenue. These three craters are particularly dangerous for cyclists given they're on the downhill side of the road.

The Conservatives responsible for ignoring this particular set of potholes are Tory MP Justine Greening and the three Conservative Councillors for West Putney ward.

Please keep the photos coming: email them to stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk or text them to 07533 384 895

Putney continue to crack up

Cromer Villas Road



...And another from Cromer Villas Road



Melrose Road



...And another from Melrose Road

I couldn't resist posting these four photos of the shocking state of the roads in this part of Southfields - among the worst I've come across - because they happen to be the neighbourhood in which Council Leader Edward Lister lives. He must drive over some of them on his way to the Town Hall!

Thank you for all the photos of your potholed streets you've been sending in - if I posted one a day I'd have enough to keep this blog running through to the Autumn. Though that's not a bad idea, I'm inclined to post a few photos a week from across the constituency. But do keep them coming - as the common adage goes: you can never have too many photographs of potholes - especially, it seems, from around Putney, Roehampton and Southfields.

In the meantime, I'm launching a new competition to come up with the collective term for potholes. "A neglect of potholes"? "A wreck of potholes"? "A council incompetence of potholes"? Let me have your ideas - email stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk.

Potholes: even Putney's most exclusive address has them

Roedean Crescent usually comes out in property price league tables as the most expensive street in Putney. The Crescent, which backs on to Richmond Park near Roehampton Gate is, we must say, in a somewhat better condition than many streets elsewhere in the constituency, but even here Conservative Council neglect can be seen.



And just round the corner, here's Bank Lane, which runs up to Priory Lane alongside the Bank of England Sports Club; though to be fair to the council - as I always am - this road has seen quite a lot of development recently.

Potholes, potholes everywhere...

The race to find Putney's worst pothole intensified this week following the posting of photos from The Platt last week.

Not to be outdone, residents of Abbotstone Road, Gwalior Road, Gamlen Road and Hotham Road - all streets in the ward represented by Council Leader Edward Lister - have sent me photos of potholes they have to put up with due to the Council's neglect of our roads.

The thing I notice, going around the constituency, is not just the number of potholes but the number of road surfaces that are on the verge of becoming major pothole problems - surfaces where you can see the wear and tear, that have been patched and patched and patched but never properly resurfaced.

My message to the Council is simple: either reverse the £1 million cut you've made to the Highways budget that has reduced it by a third in just two years, or gain the reputation as the borough with the worst roads in the capital - to add to the dubious accolade of being the flytip capital of London.


Abbotstone Road


Gamlen Road


Gwalior Road


Hotham Road

You can see other examples of Putney's pothole crisis here.

New entry in worst Putney pothole competition

Residents of The Platt, just across the road from my campaign HQ in Felsham Road, have a very strong entry into my Putney potholes competition. This is the state the Council has allowed Gay Street, on the estate, to fall into:



Here are a couple of close-ups of what can no longer be called a road - more like a gravel track (you can click to enlarge):



The state of Gay Street - and a lot of the roads on Putney's council estates - leave much to be desired, though of course as my earlier post, here shows, The Council aren't discriminating: they're neglecting all roads equally as dreadfully.

Do you know of a pothole worse than this one? Let me know - email stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk or sms it to 07533 384 895 and we'll add it to our gallery. Sooner or later, even Wandsworth Conservatives will be shamed into taking action on their neglect of our roads.

Putney going to pot (holes)

Working my way around the constituency, I have to comment on the quite appalling state of many of the roads in Putney, Roehampton and Southfields.

I'm reminded of the Beatles' song "A Day In The Life":

Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. And though the holes were rather small they had to count them all: now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.

If the Beatles had been around today, they could have substituted "Putney, Wandsworth" for "Blackburn, Lancashire" though I suspect the town hall has no idea how many holes there are in our streets.

There was even a letter in the Wandsworth Guardian from someone from Tooting about this problem last week. It made the - perfectly reasonable - point that low council tax is no excuse for leaving our streets in the state they're in: maintaining our highways is a fundamental duty of any council and our Conservative one is failing in it.

I'd like town hall bosses to visit Victoria Drive or Putney Heath - to single out just two of Putney's potholed streets - and see exactly how bad things have got. But the problem affects every part of the constituency: Danebury Avenue and Harbridge Avenue in Roehampton, Holroyd Road in West Putney and Kingsmere Road in West Hill - these are just a selection of roads from across Putney (click on each for the full size photo).

If you've got a pothole in your street, take a photo of it and send it to me: email stuart.king@putneylabour.org.uk or text 07533 384 895. I'll keep logging further examples of the council's neglect of our streets as I'm out and about around the constituency.

Together we may be able to shame the Conservatives into taking proper care of Putney's potholed roads.