Councillor tells firms to work faster after hole opens up in Newport road
A councillor has called on utility companies to repair problems more quickly – and to a higher standard – after a hole opened up in a busy town street.
Borough councillor Roy Scammell said work to gas pipes, electricity cables and water works in Newport take too long to complete.
And he also said the workers involved do not return the pavements and roads to the same standard as they were before they arrived.
Councillor Scammell was speaking after a hole opened up in the cobbled road of St Mary's Street.
The hole, which measures approximately one foot wide and about two feet deep, has been in the road for more than a week. Fences have been erected to stop motorists driving into it.
Councillor Scammell said paving slabs which were ripped up to replace an electricity cable in High Street last week have been returned chipped and uneven.
Telford & Wrekin Council spent hundreds of thousands of pounds replacing the pavement in Newport town centre in 2010.
Councillor Scammell said: "I am fed up with the contractors that come here and do the work and don't put it back in the standard they found it. The slabs outside Henshalls in High Street are chipped, as are the ones outside Boughey Tennis Club.
"The contractors don't seem to care what state they leave the place in as long as they've done what they have to do.
"We've spent quite a lot of money on these pavements, and Newport Town Council has spent more on having them cleaned. It's a waste of council and taxpayers' money. The contractors need to be held responsible.
"They should be heavily fined if they don't leave it in the same condition as they found it.
"Telford & Wrekin Council should throw more weight behind it because they are responsible for footpaths."
Severn Trent said it was still investigating what caused the hole to appear in St Mary's Street.
Telford & Wrekin Council suspects that it was caused by a collapsed sewer.
