Four-Decade Wait Turns Into Century-Long Nightmare for Banbury Street
Homeowners on a Banbury cul-de-sac have been left stunned after discovering their road, which hasn't been properly resurfaced since 1983, now faces an average waiting time of over a century for repairs. Residents of Horsham Close contacted Oxfordshire County Council requesting proper repairs for their severely damaged road, only to learn the shocking reality of road maintenance backlogs across the country.
'Bumpy and Dangerous' Conditions Plague Local Residents
Ian Bowyer, 66, and his wife Elaine, who moved to the street just eighteen months after their home was built approximately four decades ago, described the situation as ridiculous. "It hasn't had a full resurface in the 40-odd years," said grandfather Ian. "It keeps getting patched up but when you get the frost, it comes up again."
The retired resident expressed frustration at the uneven treatment across the area, noting: "It's really bumpy, too bumpy. Other roads in the area are getting done, but ours isn't for some reason." He highlighted how temporary fixes consistently fail, with moisture seeping into patches, freezing, and causing the same potholes to reappear.
Dianne Hart, 76, a nearly thirty-year resident of the cul-de-sac, warned that the deteriorating road surface makes driving hazardous. "It's just getting worse," the grandmother-of-three explained. "You can come in, and the state of the road takes the steering out of your hands, it's that bumpy."
Shoddy Repairs and Council Priorities Under Fire
Philip Smith, 79, revealed another dimension to the problem, describing how repair work had been conducted around parked vehicles, leaving unfinished sections. "They never asked us to move our cars, so there's a load of unfinished bits," the former grounds maintenance supervisor stated. He branded the work "a cheap and nasty job, not done properly" and called the concept of a 103-year wait "stupid."
Stuart Cuckney, 59, pointed out that approximately 75% of the potholes remain unmarked, creating additional hazards for drivers. "You definitely notice it when you drive down it," the father-of-two commented, adding that it "seems the council aren't bothered" despite repairs being conducted at the top of their road.
The residents' concerns found support from Andrew Crichton, county councillor for Banbury Hardwick, who confirmed the road's desperate need for maintenance after visiting the close. "The road is in a parlous state and desperately needs resurfacing," Crichton stated.
National Crisis Behind Local Frustration
When Councillor Crichton raised the issue with Cllr Andrew Gant, the council's Cabinet Member for Transport, he received the staggering revelation about the 103-year resurfacing wait. This figure comes directly from the latest Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance survey (ALARM), which identifies this as the average resurfacing cycle for all road types across England.
Councillor Gant explained the council's constrained position: "The funding received by local authorities, unfortunately, means that not all roads can be resurfaced within the timescales we would prefer. As such, our policy is to take a risk-based approach."
An Oxfordshire County Council spokesperson defended their prioritisation process, noting that Sussex Drive, the main road connecting many of these closes, was resurfaced several years ago. "Because of budgetary restrictions, we have to prioritise roads based on a number of factors, including prioritising roads that receive more use," the spokesperson said.
The council encouraged residents to report issues via Fix My Street, promising that defects reported with photographs could be "actioned quickly." However, for the long-suffering residents of Horsham Close, this offers little comfort after forty-two years of waiting, with potentially sixty-one more to go before their road receives the comprehensive repair it desperately needs.
