Your voice, their story

Share your experience confidentially

We understand that some stories may be sensitive. Rest assured, if you would prefer your story to be handled anonymously, we are more than happy to respect your confidentiality completely. Your well-being and privacy are paramount to us as we strive to unpick the truth and support the Godstone community. Please reach out, and let your voice be heard.

 

Resident DO wrote to Surrey Highways sometime ago regarding his concerns over the road that later collapsed.

Here are copies of the emails with names and personal information redacted. These are also accompanied by photographic evidence to support his statements.

 

Dear 'DO'

Enquiry regarding: Condition of reinstatement - HIGH STREET, GODSTONE. 

I have been passed your enquiry and I am sorry to hear of the condition you have described. 

I have checked the recent works in the road in question and can confirm the Utility Company have laid an interim reinstatement at the location specified. 

Utilities sometimes lay a temporary surface until they are able to arrange for the team to arrive to carry out the permanent reinstatement and this may be the case here. Under current legislation, Utility Companies have up to 6 months to carry out the permanent reinstatement. However, if the interim surface does not meet the required standards, they can be requested to return and carry out remedial works. 

We carry out thousands of audits on utility companies' reinstatements every year and will inspect those twice through their 2 year guarantee period. At the second inspection (undertaken after 20 months) if it's still in interim it will fail the inspection because the interim material can only be present for 6 months. This is part of our performance monitoring of utility works covered by the code of practice for inspections, a code of practice that is associated with the New Roads & Street Works Act 1991. 

In light of your enquiry, our Streetworks Officer has visited the site to assess the condition and has requested that SES Water undertake a permanent reinstatement as soon as possible. 

This email is in reference to the enquiry made on 09 Oct 2019 12:45: 

Highways Enquiry - Permanent solution to pothole required - Highways Enquiry - Cross ref 1326919 & 1351082 - (again the pothole has been filled tarmac, same as a month ago). 

When the new development was built, this hole was dug to get the services in. Since then it has been a constant problem. The developer foreman reported it as he was having trouble using his laser level because of the vibration it was causing. 

This customer has reported it twice recently asking for it to be permanently repaired but yesterday we just put more tarmac into the hole again, the same thing was done a month ago. This has been done 2 to 3 times now and caller says that within a few weeks the tarmac will have been pushed out of the hole by lorries' wheels and the pothole will be back to normal again. 

When it is back to normal, every time a lorry goes over it, the house shakes. The household is woken up 2 to 3 times a night because this is so violent. Caller's neighbour has also reported this. It is unlivable. 

Can an inspection be made of this problem with a view to making a permanent solution please. Caller would be very happy to speak to Highway officer about this. 

I hope the above information is helpful and thank you for taking the time to notify us of this.

 

 

Thank you for your enquiry reported on 03 Sep 2022 10:19 which has been logged as follows:
Reference number: 2349718
Location: HIGH STREET, GODSTONE
Details: Carriageway Defect - Uneven surface with rutting or humps. The highway issue you reported has been inspected by one of our Highways Officers on the 05/09/2022. I understand you may be disappointed and although there is some unevenness on the road, on closer inspection the problem does not need immediate work.

It is not possible with the funding available to repair everything reported to us. A road may not look in good condition but still be considered safe. Our highway safety policy outlines what is unsafe and needs repair. This means we can maintain the highway network to a reasonable standard.

Full details of how we prioritise repairs can be found on our website at
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/roadsafetystandards

There are no national standards for what is considered an unacceptable vibration. Unfortunately we will not investigate any further unless we receive an independent surveyor's report that indicates the vibrations from the road are causing structural damage.

Once again thank you for contacting us. If you have any further queries or require additional information you may find the following page on our website useful:
www.surreycc.gov.uk/highwaysinfo

Kind regards

Highway Customer Officer
Surrey Highways & Transport
Contact Us: www.surreycc.gov.uk/contacthighways

For Covid-19 related business and community support information:
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/coronavirus
Follow us on Social Media: @HighwaysSurrey (Twitter)/ surrey_highways (lnstagram)