Driver welcomes roadworks after £200 car bill

A driver has welcomed improvements to roads in his neighbourhood after he spent £200 fixing his car.

Dave Scott, from Basford, blamed faulty road surfaces for a spring in his car breaking and said he had been told it was becoming a common problem for local mechanics.

Nottingham City Council announced 250 different roads and streets across the city have been upgraded, as part of phase one of the Streets for People programme.

The second phase, which received £5.85m from the government’s local transport plan, will see more streets and paths being improved.

Mr Scott, 76, said: “They’ve got to be improved. I've just paid £200 out for a new spring on my car.

"I heard a noise on the back, took it to the garage, and the mechanic said they were seeing a lot of that.”

“Whether it’s potholes, I don’t know. The spring could have gone any time, I suppose. But with the state of the roads, you've got to blame something.”

About 9.8 miles (15.9km) of roads and paths will be repaired and improved using the funding, which will also go towards planting more trees and improving waste management on streets.

Bulwell Lane, Hereford Road and Kilbourn Street are among the streets chosen for the revamp, which were put forward by residents and prioritised by ward councillors.

It is hoped the improvements to roads and pavements will also make walking and cycling safer.

Jenny Guthrie, a 30-year-old resident in Bulwell Lane, said: “The biggest problem close to here is where the bus stops are, because the divots are quite big, and then if there's a bus in the bus stop, you have no choice but to go into the potholes.

“But I have noticed that the council are starting to cover up the biggest problems.

“It does make it nicer when I can park my car without worrying about popping a tyre before I pull up.”

Danny Kerry, director at Cairo Street Garage in Basford, said the roads have been deteriorating over time.

He added: "We have seen an increase in people coming in with broken road springs and splits in their tyres from potholes over the past 18 months.

"Tyres cost between £70 to £400 to replace depending on the type of car. Even though I own a garage, I am not immune to these costs.

"The roads need resurfacing and replacing as they have been let go over the years."

Nottingham City Council leader Neghat Khan said she was proud the programme had received national recognition.

“We’ve listened to our residents and worked closely with councillors to prioritise the areas that will benefit the most from better roads and greener spaces."

It is hoped all improvements in the programme will be delivered before October 2025.

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