Potholes repaired at the touch of a button thanks to new phone app

Wolverhampton Council officials will put the new application through its paces by swapping their clipboards for smartphones on their annual 80-mile inspection of the main routes into the city centre.

The free app, called Wolverhampton Report It, will allow both the public and council workers to report issues directly from the scene through a mobile phone or tablet.

Is your road affected by potholes? Tweet your pictures @ExpressandStar or send them to Star Witness.

The reports then get sent straight to the council's customer contact centre which assigns them for action.

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The app will be used over the next fortnight by two city council inspectors who walk the length of the 10 main routes into the city looking for unsightly problems that need putting right.

The annual summer challenge inspection sees 80 miles of main road and their junctions with minor roads checked over.

In the past, the workers have logged every defect on paper and taken a separate photograph, filling up several large files.

However, the new phone app will mean any problems will be logged immediately, complete with a photograph, which will be transmitted electronically to the Civic Centre.

Cabinet member for city services, Councillor John Reynolds, said: "Our annual summer challenge project sees two employees get out on foot and walk 80 miles of main roads looking for issues that need fixing.

"They look for things like damaged or dirty signs, overgrown shrubs, potholes, litter – anything that creates a bad impression of Wolverhampton as people travel in and out.

"Anything they spot will be programmed in for repair, we want our city to look its best for the people that live here and those who come and visit us."

Senior council officer Keith Ireland said the Wolverhampton Report It app was available free of charge from the Apple App Store and the Android Play Store.

He said: "Our employees will use it during the summer challenge project, but it is mainly a tool for the public.

"We want them to be our eyes and ears and tell us about the issues in their neighbourhoods that need putting right.

"Wolverhampton Report It is a really simple way of being able to let us know about problems with a few clicks of their mobile phone or tablet."

He added that people using the app would be kept informed about progress on the issue they were reporting.

More information about the Report It app is available here.