Resident left unimpressed as council 'couldn't find' exposed cables in Linslade

A Leighton-Linslade resident was left unimpressed when Central Bedfordshire Council was temporarily unable to locate and repair exposed cables.

Sue James contacted CBC via the Fix My Street app when she became worried about a pothole on Soulbury Road, Linslade, at the end of August.

The hole had exposed traffic sensor cables, but Sue was left frustrated when instead of coming to repair the issue, she received a message via the app to say the problem couldn't be located.

It read: "Thank you for your Highways report. We have inspected the area but were unable to find the issue you reported at the location provided in your report. If this is still an issue please provide further information on your report to help us locate the problem."

Fed up, Sue contacted the LBO on November 2 to try to get the matter highlighted. She claimed: "Do they need glasses?

"The road has been patched numerous times in the past, which just breaks up. As you know, there is the patching and resurfacing difference in the term, 'repaired'...

"I have on numerous times over the past five years plus walked along that stretch of the road reporting every pothole - initially, on the CBC website, and more recently on the Fix My Street App. This stretch of road was also closed last month for a day to be repaired.

"According to my local Councillor, Victoria Harvey, there has now been a flurry of activity since she forwarded on the email I sent [the LBO] to Highways."

A Central Bedfordshire Council spokeswoman, said: “After confirming the exact location, we revisited the site and carried out the necessary repairs.

“FixMyStreet is an easy way of reporting issues on our roads which helps us to respond and fix potential problems.

"We would like to ask residents when they make a report through FixMyStreet, to provide precise details of the location and photos if possible. This gives our officers enough information to locate and fix the issue.”

However, Sue claims she emailed the council to notify them that it hadn't been repaired.

She added: "I responded to Fix My Street's two emails as to whether it had been fixed. The app after a set time asks you by email if the problem has been repaired and I responded no. This I assume sends a reminder to CBC but you would probably need to check the workings of the application.

"How do I feel? As a cyclist my life is not valued. How many cyclists have to fall off their bikes before the road is repaired?"