Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Devon calls for Pothole Army

Pothole Self Help is required here in Devon. One sensible lady organiser has had the idea approved by the County Council. It was once said to be illegal for individuals to attempt the job but something has changed, or so it seems. The BBC Report here.

Something has to be done......!!
It's too much for local councils to manage....

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There is very little worse in life than a group of enthusiastic amateurs and this mottley crew fit that to a tee - just wait till the compensation claims start rolling in, as they will and the Council walks away from ever agreeing to such a scheme.

The Government allotted the money and should be leaning on the councils to get the job done.

It is interesting from a 'Legal/Insurance' point of view.

A few years back I had a dropped kerb fitted outside myself. The 'official process' was to contact a contractor of the 'Approved Contractor' list - pay them an extortionate sum, and then pay the council £200 to check the work of the approved contractor that I had to use from their list.

As I installed block paved and tarmac drives in a previous life, I asked if it was OK to do it myself - I would then happily pay £200 for the council to check my work. However, I was told that I did not have the relevant insurances to a) work on the pavement/road and b) to cover any subsequent claims for damages. So I had to pay £1700 for a job that would have cost me about £150 DIY, and then pay to have it checked. I also suggested that the contractor should be paying the £200 to earn and maintain their place on the elusive list, but again computer said no.....

So I wonder how this gang of helpful and community spirited volunteers would be covered?

Exactly. When i lived in Bucks we lived on a private road and as frontagers we all paid into a pot to keep the road repaired. It was unadopted which meant anyone could use it.

It was a long hill c 3/4 mile which over time got potholes. At the bottom lived a building company owner so he fixed our potholes professionally.
But where our road stopped & to the T junction to the next road was c 100 yards of what looked like the Somme.

We offered to fix it & were told no as we weren't insured etc etc

The (in)ability to get insurance is what thwarts so many community initiatives these days. It seems that for every community-spirited soul who is prepared to do something positive there are 10 litigious hyenas only too happy to make a claim for the slightest thing.

Our Parish Council is currently having to leap through hoops because someone wants to have a festival and camp on our village playing field. Looks like it's going to be great fun but the County Council seems to think that because the site was used as a tip half a century ago there might be a risk of noxious gases despite us forking out £6k for a proper Geotechnical test that shows there isn't.

A blind man (or woman) with no arms could fix the potholes better than the approved council contractors for my area! The potholes are back in weeks on many occasions and the contractors couldn't give a monkey's about their work.
After 50 years in the building trade, I know what should be done to fix the potholes, but the contractors just bodge them up and bugger off. I bet their insurance would find a way of not paying if I damaged my car because of their bad work as well, so what is the point of using insurance as an excuse for stopping people fixing them themselves?
Just my two pence worth.

It's not rocket science to fix one.......
With a bit of training most folk could tackle small to medium holes.
There must be some way that the pothole fixers can be added to the council's insurance while they're fixing the holes....

The world now seems to be full of folk looking for reasons why things can't or shouldn't be done rather than getting on and doing them.....🤦🏻‍♂️

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Should go back to gravel dirt tracks like we have here in the mountains traffic goes slower and the county sends the grader every so often to smooth out the dirt, you get used to the dust.