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New 'taskforce' to tackle potholes in town centre

Henry Godfrey-Evans/BBC A damaged section of road in Brentwood town centreHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC
Block paving and cobbles were laid in Brentwood town centre in 2009

A council is setting up a "multi-agency taskforce" to tackle potholes in a town centre.

Brentwood Borough Council will create a panel, made up of taxi drivers, business owners, councillors, and other stakeholders, to work together to improve the state of the town's High Street.

Liberal Democrat council leader Barry Aspinell said residents had been complaining to the authority about the road "all the time".

Essex Highways said the road is inspected monthly, with extra visits to follow up on any reports it receives from members of the public.

Simon Dedman/BBC Barry Aspinell, the leader of Brentwood Borough CouncilSimon Dedman/BBC
Barry Aspinell says Brentwood Borough Council had received many complaints about the town's High Street

Mr Aspinell said Brentwood High Street had "changed beyond all recognition" since block paving and cobbles were laid in 2009.

"The pavements are all over the place. Nothing is safe or steady, but the road itself is appalling."

He added that he had been highlighting the issue "since I became leader of the council".

"I want to set up a multi-agency taskforce to make the town centre more attractive for residents and visitors and make it safer. We haven’t had a first meeting yet but I’ve said about it at a full council meeting.”

Henry Godfrey-Evans/BBC Anthony John standing in Brentwood High Street in front of a damaged roadHenry Godfrey-Evans/BBC
Anthony John avoids Brentwood town centre because of the state of the roads

Resident Anthony John, 80, said he lives a few minutes from the town centre but often avoids it and visits nearby Chelmsford instead because of the condition of the roads.

"It really needs shutting down and picking up again," he said.

Roger Griffiths, 74, lives in nearby Hutton but said he would not drive through Brentwood.

He said the road "lasted quite well at first but it has broken up".

"Brentwood can be an affluent area. We do sometimes get some sports cars come through and they grind on the bottom," he added.

Alex Gayler, 74, who was visiting the town for the first time in several years, said: "The surface is in a really bad way and to have let it get that bad is not good."

Essex Highways said it has to prioritise and schedule its work to fix the most urgent issues first.

"All defects reported to us are assessed by an inspector and prioritised accordingly," a spokesman said.

Additional reporting by Mitul Samji.

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