Sheffield council selling off the maintenance of city roads

[dawny1970 10]

well lets see if they actually fix the potholes in sheffield instead of just doing them on the bus routes, because thats all they are doing at the moment!!

[Crosser 10]

Hang on.....

 

If I recall correctly, Sheffield was given an EU grant for fixing the roads a year or two ago, is this part of that initiative or has that been squandered also?

Edited November 2, 2011 by Crosser

[the_rudeboy 12]

Hang on.....

 

If I recall correctly, Sheffield was given an EU grant for fixing the roads a year or two ago, is this part of that initiative or has that been squandered also?

You recall incorrectly, it has nothing to do with the EU. Funding for the PFI was given the rubber stamp a couple of years ago. It's a multi-million pound contract and takes time to procure. The winning bidder will be announced shortly.

[chem1st 10]

But private debt is good debt.

 

(In the eyes of the government at least)

 

Erm...

 

I sincerely hope the ministers who will profit from this, have accounts which are free to be seen by the common man.

[mushy409 10]

I don't know about you lot, but to be honest I think Sheffield Council are a joke!

 

I've lived in Shiregreen for 3 years now, in that time I have seen only ONE ROAD being resurfaced - that was Ecclesfield Common in front of the Morrissons. That road is 100% fine now, no gripes. But how about Green Lane which is probably THE WORST road I have ever rode over (motorcycle owner)

 

In the 3 years I have lived here, I must have reported that road 10-15 times WITH PICTURES of the disgraceful road surface. About 12 months ago, my partner was on her way to a job interview. She rides a 50cc moped as it's cheap & quicker than public transport. She ended up in hospital with torn ligaments and bruising after being thrown off the bike just before where the Stagecoach depot is.

 

After reporting the road AGAIN to the council (with pictures of the hole & damage to the bike) and showing my utter disgust in the way they were addressing the problem, I recieved a letter a few days later stating "We are investigating the matter..."

This was almost 12 months to the date - I still have not recieved ANY reply to my letters, nor has ANY attempt been made to fill the holes in.

 

Furthermore, around 5-6 weeks ago I was woken up at just after 8am (day off) by the sound of petrol stone-cutters and a Bobcat JCB right outside my property digging up the pavement for supposed 'grass verges & flower displays'. 90% of the work has been finished and it does look a damn site better than before.

Only problem is, the hole they dug outside my house STILL HAS NOT been filled in. After a few weeks of heavy rain and people driving over it to park, it has turned into a 20-inch deep mudpit which is now causing damage to anyone unlucky enough to drive into it.

I came home from work one night, it was absolutley pounding it down & visibility through a bike visor is pretty rubbish. I went onto the curb to pull my bike onto our driveway and ended up being thrown face down on the pavement with my motorcycle stuck in the muddy hole. Luckily I wasn't hurt, but after inspecting the damage to my bike the next day I could feel my wallet starting to cringe.

 

A quick trip to Shiregreen Service Station for a once-over revealed the extent of the damage - bearing in mind I have JUST MOT'd my bike in September...

 

2 x broken rear suspension dampers (£72.80 inc VAT)

Swingarm linkage & bearings destroyed (£59.50 inc VAT)

Exhaust completely snapped off the engine mount (£269.99 inc VAT)

Front right fork leg damper & seal completely bust (£44.39 inc VAT)

Broken front brake lever (£19.50 inc VAT)

 

All in all - around £500 of damage done, plus the day off work I had to get the damage assessed.

 

Final cherry on the cake....

 

Sheffield Council have sent me a letter saying they aren't liable for the damage!!! WHO THE HELL IS LIABLE THEN? I didn't decide one day I would drive into the hole and jump face-first onto the pavement!

 

DUSGUSTING, DISGRACEFUL, NEGLECTING, MONEY-GRABBING, COWBOYS...

 

Just a few words that spring to mind...

[dawny1970 10]

if they dug the hole then they are liable for damage caused by not filling it in, go get legal advice, thats the standard offputting letter in the hope they dont get sued!!

[WallBuilder 10]

If i have a need to contact the council I always speak to a person rather than post or email as then I can get a name. I also ask how many working days it is going to take them to respond and if they don't for any rreason then I chase things up. As far as roads go it is slightly annoying that it can be streetforce or highways who don't seem able to talk to one another very well and small road improvements now go through the community assembly for the area which can take months and months.

[Mandem 13]

We soon wont need a City Council, they have very little left to "council" if you know what I mean. They have sold the housing stock, school dinners, bins, school building etc. So what do they actually do. No need to answer!!!!

[Douglas J 10]

It seems the Labour council is going to literally sell the roads out from underneath us as they are incapable of maintaining them.

 

It will cost Sheffield an extra £10 million a year and mean a huge increase in borrowing. £10 million every year could fill in a lot of potholes.

[max 13]

We soon wont need a City Council, they have very little left to "council" if you know what I mean. They have sold the housing stock, school dinners, bins, school building etc. So what do they actually do. No need to answer!!!!

 

I was going to go into what you actually get from the council but then you added "no need to answer".

[sccsux 10]

I was going to go into what you actually get from the council but then you added "no need to answer".

 

Probably because the answer is "not a lot, really" as most of the services are not council run any more but are out-sourced which is, indeed, .

[Glennis 15]

I have no faith whatsoever in this being a great deal for the taxpayer, judging from past projects along similar lines I imagine this will have us over a contractual barrel and on the whole will serve little purpose but to enable the council to shirk any responsibility while leaving the investors plenty of room to screw the living daylights out of us (as per).

 

.....and why does it have to a 25year contract, seems a long time to be stuck with something when it inevitably turns bad.

 

I am in agreement with this post. This is a private finance initiative apparantly, and will probably be worse value for money for sheffield, than the world student games were.