THURROCK Council has been accused of carrying out "substandard" pothole and kerb repairs after a resident was allegedly told by a contractor that poor quality work was the standard expected by council officers.

The claims follow the authority being rated red for best practice in new Government figures assessing how effectively councils maintain their roads.

Speaking at a recent full council meeting, Cllr Gary Byrne, Independent member for The Homesteads, said a recent repair carried out on a damaged kerb had failed twice within days.

He told the chamber: "Following a recent tarmac repair by a Thurrock Council contractor, a resident's father in law was directly told by the contractor that the visibly poor finish is "the standard we are told to deliver" by officers. The same contractor then suggested he could return and carry out a professional repair as a private job.

"This was endorsed by the officer who advised me that restoring kerbs to their previous condition would cost approximately £2,500 and this level of repair cannot be justified.

"How is value for money being assessed when residents are left with an inferior finish? The first repair gave up in 24 hours and the second held up for seven days."

Cllr Gary Byrne expressed his concern about road repair standards in Thurrock

Last year council leader Cllr Lynn Worrall agreed with Cllr Byrne when he complained about the quality of repairs, saying: "This standard of work is not acceptable."

At last week's council meeting Cllr Victoria Holloway, portfolio holder for place and environment, also said the situation was "unacceptable" but stressed that some road types posed challenges.

"Where there is a defect posing an immediate safety risk, a quick tarmac repair is sometimes the only practical option," she said.

"I have seen the photos of the case raised and the repair was not up to an acceptable standard. It was arranged for the repair to be redone and for other loose kerbs to be re tarmacked."

However, she said full concrete reinstatement was "not financially viable," meaning asphalt ramps were often the only option. "This is a broader issue across many concrete roads in the borough," she added.

The discussion followed publication of new Department for Transport figures ranking local authorities using a traffic light system. Thurrock scored red for best practice, one of only 12 per cent of councils to do so.

The grading system offers a three-colour rating on each of the three categories

• the current condition of local roads
• how much each local highway authority is spending on maintaining its local roads
• how effectively each local highway authority follows best practice in highways maintenance - for example by using technologies to fix and prevent potholes more efficiently

A further explanation of the ratings and a nationwide performance table can be found via this link.  

Reform Group leader Cllr Alex Anderson asked why the council had performed so poorly.

Cllr Holloway said financial constraints had limited investment in modern systems and technologies but stressed the overall picture was "far more positive," with Thurrock receiving a green rating for funding effectiveness and amber for road condition.

"We will continue to work to move the amber and red ratings up to green," she said.