Councillor's worries over roads after sinkholes appear

As the Star reported in June, a sinkhole on Market Street, in Earlestown, led to a road closure having to be put in place as repairs were carried out.

There was also a similar incident on Sefton Street, in Newton-le-Willows where a pothole appeared a few days later.

Independent councillor Terry Maguire, of Newton-le-Willows West ward, expressed concern over the issue and said there "appears to be no urgency" when incidents are reported.

Cllr Terry Maguire (Image: St Helens Council)

He said to the Star: "I, like many others are worried about the roads in our borough, particularly the appearance of sink holes.

"I think we were very lucky not to have had any injuries after the sink hole collapse in Market Street. Although that is a utilities problem, there had been many reports of sink holes in that area prior to the collapse.

"Other holes have been reported to the council and there appears no urgency and I wonder if we have to wait for a collapse for any actions. If these holes are reported to the council, then they should act to ensure any other services that may be responsible, acts quickly, after all the roads are the council's responsibility."

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Cllr Maguire added: "As a resident and as a motorist I have grave concerns to see areas of our roads dipping the way they are, the worry being that someone may get injured as a result of them one day."

When asked for a response over the matter, a St Helens Borough spokeswoman said: 

A St Helens Borough Council spokesperson said: "We have clear guidance that says we aim to review every pothole or sinkhole reported to us within 10 days and in many cases this happens before that.

"Then we will prioritise the need for repair depending on the size, depth and location. In April and May alone we carried out more than 1,700 pothole repairs across St Helens Borough.

“In the case of an emergency, such as Market Street, we will contact partner authorities such as United Utilities who attended within the hour.

"We carry out regular inspections throughout the year of all our adopted roads, pavements and footpaths. But we do also rely on the public to report any problems they find.

"Residents can report a problem by using our online form www.sthelens.gov.uk/article/10844/Pothole or by calling our contact centre on 01744 676789.

"Details of how we respond to reports and tackle urgent repairs is on our website www.sthelens.gov.uk/PotholeRepairs along with where we have made repairs."