A cyclist who regularly has to swerve to avoid potholes on a major road is furious after being told they were ‘not considered a danger to highway users’.
David Mayers rides along Cumberland Street in Macclesfield to his job as a maths lecturer at Macclesfield College.
Sick of veering into the path of motorists to avoid deep and uneven crevices in the road, David used the ‘report a pothole’ facility on Cheshire East Council’s website.
But to David’s astonishment, in a reply sent two weeks later, the council said it had inspected the area and found ‘no defects identified that were considered to present a danger to highway users’.
David said: “The council’s response was unbelievable. I was furious, as I regularly have to put my safety at risk, as well as that of other road users, by swerving round the damaged sections of road.
“This is a complete dereliction of duty on behalf of the council.
“We all know the roads in Macclesfield are getting worse all the time, and now we know why.
“Most people don’t bother to report potholes because of exactly this sort of whitewash.
“These potholes present a massive risk to cyclists; and because of the heavy traffic they are getting rapidly worse.
“There are plenty of other people who cycle out of necessity on Cumberland Street; I am sure there would be many more if Cheshire East Council looked after the roads properly.”
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The criticism comes only weeks after the council announced the Tour of Britain cycling race is to take place on local roads including the Cat and Fiddle A537 before ending at Tatton Park.
A spokesman for the council said: “An inspection was carried out on February 27, following an enquiry from a local resident.
“Some deterioration of the road surface was evident, but the scale and nature of the defect does not meet the intervention level for repair.
“Cheshire East Highways operates a robust safety inspection regime and all adopted highways are inspected in accordance with standards that meet national best practice.
“The council has made significant investment in the borough’s highways network, resulting in a substantial reduction in the number of potholes.”
