Councillor Lulu Bowerman recently wrote of the work that Hampshire Highways teams are doing to patch up our broken roads. 

We should applaud the work that these teams are doing. 

This is a thankless task which resembles a game of whack-a-mole; patching up one pothole before the next one appears. We hear that record numbers of potholes have had to be repaired this year.

This is because there are a record number of potholes.

Roads need to be regularly maintained. Fundamentally they require resealing or resurfacing every 15 years or so depending on usage. Failure to keep up with this leaves tarmac vulnerable to damage from water ingress and frosts. Potholes are the symptom of this. 

Instead of boasting about how much money is now being spent to play whack-a-pothole on this avoidable problem, Cllr Bowerman would do well to use her role as executive member for highways and waste to investigate why this problem has arisen. 

A good place to start would be to look at the actions of successive Conservative governments who have cut council funding by over 40 per cent since 2010. A question to ask is how has HCC's highways budget changed over the last 20 years at current prices? How can HCC now fund the extensive repairs necessary to make up for lost time?

Kevin Lindley
Romsey