'˜Abandoned' roadworks spark anger in Chesterfield

Workmen started resurfacing Longedge Lane in the last week of July but still haven’t finished the job six weeks later.

Resident Sara Peter says the road has been left looking a mess, is damaging residents’ cars and is causing unnecessary disruption.

She said: “I think it is awful – what do we pay Council Tax for?”

Sara Peters points out the potholes on the planed off road.

“I’ve even started going the long way round rather than drive at five miles an hour, avoiding all the exposed grates.”

Sara says that after the workmen took the top surface off the entire road, they put down a new one on just half of it – and then ‘inexplicably’ stopped.

“A bit later a notice went up which said they would be back on August 18,” said Sara.

“In the end they never came back – and now it is September and we still don’t have a road surface down.”

A car passes Sara Peters on the planed road.

Sara said she became so frustrated at the lack of action she called Derbyshire County Council to complain.

“They said somebody would get back to me but that never happened,” she said.

“I said if you can’t help me I will go to the Derbyshire Times. They just don’t seem interested one bit.”

Sara, 46, who lives on nearby Mulberry Close with her husband and daughter, says things have been made worse by the fact the council has just resurfaced the pavement up the road.

Longedge Lane has been planed off and left for weeks, without being resurfaced.

“That’s great but they should have finished one job before starting another.”

A spokesman for Derbyshire County Council said: “We haven’t finished the resurfacing because a developer is due to do some work shortly which will include digging up the road. We only found this out when we had started the work, but then put the rest of the resurfacing on hold.

“We’ve put some temporary tarmac round the exposed grates and ironwork and have just completed some more work to make the join between the exposed road surface and the new surface smoother. We have put signs in place and are sweeping the road regularly.

“We apologise for any inconvenience this might have caused, but hope local people will be able to understand why we have not yet finished the job. We would hope to finish this work in October, once the developer has done their work.”