Rapid response team to tackle potholes

A new rapid response service designed to stamp out the bane of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, has been unveiled by Oldham Council.

Holes in the road are one of the most frequent complaints made to the authority. So now it has launched The Pothole Mole, a new specialist team designed to take a proactive approach to pothole repairs.

People can report dangerous potholes to a special hotline number on 0161-770 1685 from next Monday.

Even when a report is called in outside normal office hours, the details will be taken by the council’s First Response staff and passed on to the new unit.

An extra £60,000 has been allocated within the authority’s budget to set-up this dedicated maintenance team.

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for environment and infrastructure, said: “Within the Oldham borough and across the country, the road network is struggling from a lack of funding and a major consequence is that potholes are costing UK motorists an estimated £320 million a year and untold misery.

“At Oldham Council, we have examined how we deal internally with reports of potholes — in particular to look at the ways we can cut back on bureaucracy and paperwork — and this new service will deliver a faster responsive service to residents.

“It is, of course, our duty to fix potholes but this service will also depend on help and information from the public. Our staff can’t visit everywhere within the borough — and if we don’t know about a pothole then we can’t fill it in. If you want a pothole repaired, you should now report it on our 24-hour hotline number and let our Pothole Mole maintenance team do the rest.”