Villagers appeal for major repairs to ‘degraded’ roads

Villagers on the outskirts of Newport have urged the city council to carry out wider road resurfacing, and claimed previous pothole repairs failed to last.

Wentlooge Community Council has led a petition calling for action against “severe potholes and dangerously degraded road surfaces” in and around St Brides and Peterstone.

“Residents are facing widespread carriageway deterioration,” community councillor Sean Rafferty told a local authority committee on Thursday September 3.

He said on the area’s “narrow rural roads, drivers often have to move towards the carriageway edge – creating road safety risks”.

More than 900 people signed the community council’s online petition to the local authority, as well as more than 300 who signed paper copies.

“We recognise and appreciate the repairs Newport City Council has carried out, but residents are frustrated that many have failed again within a short time,” said Cllr Rafferty.

“It suggests the underlying condition of the road network needs to be addressed.”

He added the community response to the petition showed a “significant level of concern” about the issue, and warned there were risks of vehicles becoming stuck in verges as drivers tried to avoid potholes.

Members of the council’s overview and scrutiny management committee, which heard public petitions, were sympathetic to the concerns.

Cllr John Reynolds noted potholes and road conditions were “obviously something that’s a hot topic”.

Cllr Rafferty said the B4239 which runs through the area “is not suitable for HGVs”, and said lorry drivers “should be using the A48”.

The community council’s clerk, Nikki Malpas, added lorries were “going over newly-repaired potholes” and patching material was “popping out”.

In addition, some parts of the road network had “completely degraded”, she said, adding some reports to the local authority had drawn “very generic replies”.

Members of the committee agreed to escalate the petitioners’ concerns to the city council’s head of infrastructure for consideration.