Contractors pay for extra road repairs after cracks re-appear

Senior politicians at North Yorkshire County Council have admitted that they have been left “extremely disappointed” by the urgent need to carry out the latest round of repairs in Harrogate and Knaresborough only months after the initial work was completed.

Business leaders have condemned a “lack of quality control” to ensure the original repairs were carried out to a satisfactory standard, and warned more disruption will hit beleaguered shop owners and entrepreneurs hard as they continue to battle the economic slump.

The latest round of repairs will be conducted over a six-week period from August 20, and will include evening road closures on routes including Wetherby Road, Victoria Avenue, Knaresborough Road and King’s Road.

The county council’s executive member for highways, Councillor Gareth Dadd, stressed the undisclosed repair costs are being covered by the contractor, Aggregate Industries, which carried out the original £2m programme of work.

While he was adamant that taxpayers will not have to shoulder the cost of the additional work, Coun Dadd admitted the need to carry out the repairs was an unwelcome distraction to the council, which is battling to make £69m in savings.

He confirmed repair work by council contractors has had to be revisited in the past, although not on the scale of the problems in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Coun Dadd: “It is extremely disappointing and the last thing that we wanted to happen, but we will be doing all we can to minimise disruption.

“We have held the contractors accountable, and they will be covering the cost of the extra repairs.”

The initial repairs were carried out between October and February to repair the ravages of the harsh winters in recent years. But recent inspections revealed cracks have already begun to open up, prompting fears that the state of the roads will only worsen if the nation endures another winter of sub-zero temperatures.

The Yorkshire Post understands the problems have been caused by the failure of a binding substance which led to areas of the road surfaces rapidly deteriorating.

The Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce’s chief executive, Brian Dunsby, revealed he has requested a meeting with senior civil servants at County Hall.

He said: “It is completely unacceptable, and there seems to have been a distinct lack of quality control involved.

“We are now faced with another period of significant disruption only months after the initial work was completed. This will hit businesses hard at a time when they can ill afford it.”

A county council spokeswoman confirmed that Aggregate Industries is not the main highways contractor for the authority, and the firm had successfully bid through a tender process for the contract in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

A spokesperson for Aggregate Industries said; “We need to revisit works carried out in Harrogate and Knaresborough that have not met our normal high quality standard. We are pleased to have a good relationship with North Yorkshire County Council and we will be working with them to ensure disruption to commuters is kept to a minimum whilst the works are taking place.

“We apologise for all inconvenience caused.”

A report published by Labour last year surveyed 111 local authorities across England, representing about three quarters of councils with a responsibility for road maintenance.

The study highlighted North Yorkshire County Council as one of the five worse, with estimated backlogs topping £400m to achieve a gold-plated standard of roads.