Road resurfacing in parts of Eden by contractors working for Westmorland and Furness Council has come under fire after residents, local business, and Parish Councils who have raised concerns over road conditions and disruption including health concerns over dust clouds.
Cllr Mary Robinson, Westmorland and Furness Councillor for Alston and Fellside ward and former Eden Council Deputy Leader, said the recent surface dressing in Alston was “dangerous for cyclists” during the recent London–Edinburgh–London event.
“The contractors will be held to account by Westmorland and Furness. The first sweep should have been done within two days, but it took a week,” she said, adding: “The contractors are in danger of losing the contract. It is not the fault of W&F staff. There has also been considerable upset caused by the rude and unhelpful attitude of the contractors to people needing to get through for work etc.”
The £3.3 million programme has faced problems elsewhere. On 22 July, the A6 between Clifton and Eamont Bridge was due to have the surface dressing work carried out overnight between 18:00 and 06:00. Instead, contractors arrived at 10am and closed the road completely, causing long tailbacks and forcing HGVs to turn around in Clifton.
When the road reopened, residents complained of thick layers of loose stone chippings and dust clouds. Environmental health officers said they could not act because it was a highways matter.
Clifton Community Council raided the issues with Westmorland and Furness Council to discover that Westmorland and Furness Council had issued incorrect overnight times in the public notice caused by a “copy and paste” error.
The lack of sweeping was admitted by Westmorland and Furness Highways as a failure of the contractor’s aftercare duties, blamed on shortages of sweeping equipment — a problem only identified by Westmorland and Furness Council after Clifton Community Council pressured Westmorland and Furness Council for answers.
Assurances have been given by the council that the contractors would now carry out a sweeping of the road to remove remaining excess road chippings on the A6.
The council says surface dressing protects roads from winter damage by sealing the surface with bitumen, covering it with stone chippings, and rolling them in place. Traffic is allowed back on immediately at reduced speed, with a final sweep and new road markings scheduled for seven days later. However, some roads resurfaced more than a month ago are still waiting for both.
Penrith is scheduled to be the next local area with the councils contractors due to carry out the same surface dressing on Oak Road.
Cllr Peter Thornton, Cabinet Member for Highways and ICT, said:
“The severe weather and freezing temperatures we face here takes its toll on the condition of our roads, which is why we have made proactively maintaining and improving our network a priority.
“Our surface dressing programme will protect roads from the impacts of winter, preventing minor issues from escalating into major problems, like potholes, which understandably causes frustration for everyone.
“This treatment is not only a fast and effective way of maintaining our network, it enables us to reduce our impact on the environment and get the most out of every pound that we spend. After each scheme completes, we sweep and collect the spare chippings from the roadside and re-cycle them for use in future programmes, such as this year, where we are using 2,500 tonnes of recycled chippings from our 2024 works.”
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