Potholes on the road from Woodstock (Debate)

Sun 28 Apr, 16:46

Back in August 2023 the approval of the resurfacing of the road from 5 ways / Wellington cottages to Cornbury was announced.- 9 months on , any update if this will happen? 

Sat 12 Aug 2023, 21:19

Thanks Liz, another interesting article. It's good to see the big picture in regard to funding for road maintenance, particularly "local" roads...

Sat 12 Aug 2023, 20:05

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/councils-facing-biggest-ever-pothole-repair-backlog-b2392000.html

Wed 9 Aug 2023, 19:24

£ 600.00 - £ 650.00 per m of width of a standard width road is a budget figure , so I would estimate £130000- £ 140000 for the proposed section that has had approval would be an indicative cost .

Tue 8 Aug 2023, 12:32

Gipave. Read more here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-66431043

Tue 8 Aug 2023, 10:40

I note from a recent article that OCC are trialing new methods of repairs - this was an industry paper so unable to share it here for all to benefit/ have the knowledge of progress in this particular area 

Tue 8 Aug 2023, 10:06 (last edited on Tue 8 Aug 2023, 10:07)

I don't know the answers, Mark, but I can find out and let you know once the repairs are scheduled. My guess is that it will be what we are doing on a number of roads in the area, which is using recycled asphalt to resurface, rather than chippings. 

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 19:32 (last edited on Mon 7 Aug 2023, 19:54)

Excellent news Liz and all reading this post - obviously the worst stretch of road in Charlbury was known and easily identified. Interestingly, how much will it cost to totally resurface this particular section of road ? Will it be a removal and re lay of stone asphalt, or a coating of chipping  ? As the cost and life expectancy differs quite considerably. On that basis , it will give a cost per distance as an approximate value.

The cost of calculating the number of pot holes for the suggested figure of  £ 100000.00 was a simple calculation base on a google search of the average cost to repair a pot hole. Not sure of the validity of this figure 

My involvement and membership of the Institute of Mastic Asphalt Technology gives an excellent insight in to the performance and technical issues relating to the use of various surfaces and use of bitumen based products in construction.

Unfortunately, the ability to raise the finance is not something i can contribute towards, but the savings of no mow May, June and July must of had an impact and contribution to be used on the major issues costing a lot of people damage to tyres, wheels and suspension. 

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 18:22

Tony, David and Mark clearly have a much better understanding of how much it costs to rebuild and resurface roads and repair potholes than I do, and how to finance it all.

However the good news is that I have now got the stretch of road from Fiveways to North Lodge (which is what I presume Mark is referring to) onto the repair schedule. It has taken a while, and I can't say exactly when it will be done, but it will be.

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 16:14 (last edited on Mon 7 Aug 2023, 16:18)

What is the evidence that most local residents opposed the Rushy Bank development, Tony? The plan changed greatly after the first time opinions were canvassed. 

A substantial number supported, and presumably continue to support, the development, as well as a home for Young Dementia sufferers in Charlbury. It has been an extremely divisive issue, and it's a mistake to present your opposition as a majority Charlburian view.

Like everyone else I would like potholes to be repaired , but Rushy Bank has nothing to do with the issue. 

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 16:04

£ 100000.00 ! Where is this figure from ? That’s 1400 pot holes . Enough to reinstate the Charlbury Roads , and to resurface possibly the worst surface in the town !  A bonus prize for the vote of the must uneven and damage road - Cycling enthusiasts will have the most valuable feed back on this 

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 15:48

The millions spent on 20 mile signage would have gone a long way to repairing the potholes.

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 14:19 (last edited on Mon 7 Aug 2023, 14:44)

I honestly think the council should respect local views and also face reality

When the council first asked for comments a majority of local residents who responded were against the development so the 'small group of local residents' who took the council to 2 judicial reviews were in fact representing the majority view

Both judicial reviews were lost by WODC and the courts comments after the second one included

The Court’s ruling highlighted clear errors and inconsistencies in the submissions of senior planning officers at the Council

I do think its time for the council to stop trying to defend the indefensible

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 13:14 (last edited on Mon 7 Aug 2023, 13:21)

Do you honestly expect the council to stand by and not defend a decision taken by a (crossparty) planning committee in the face of a judicial review lodged by a small group of local residents?  If £100,000 was spent then it was the work of those who do not want this to be built and who will use everything they can to stop it from happening. 

I stand by my position on this development.  It will provide much needed affordable and social housing for the town and a supported living facility for people who need care.  

As regards the A44 scheme - you have clearly forgotten that for two years we were living with Covid. And we now have the war in Ukraine which has interrupted supply and caused an increase in the cost of materials. 

Mon 7 Aug 2023, 12:28

The question is not whether a bus lane is a a good idea, the question is why it has taken such an inordinate amount of time, money & inconvenience to implement

WODC have already spent over £100,000 on two court cases where the judges rejected their Rushy Bank planning proposals. The question is why are they contemplating a third attempt to push through this flawed & divisive planning proposal, particularly as the majority of charlbury residents who commented were against it

Maybe our locally elected representatives would like to comment without blaming the Tories or any other third party

Sun 6 Aug 2023, 23:34

Richard, I agree that the bus lane will be excellent so long as it goes all the way up to Wolvercote roundabout, rather than the current crazy design that peters out part way.

Sun 6 Aug 2023, 10:23 (last edited on Sun 6 Aug 2023, 10:35)

The work on the A44 is funded by the Housing and Growth Deal which was negotiated with the government by the Tory administration at OCC in 2017.  That money is ringfenced and cannot be used for any other purpose, even if we wanted to, which we don't because a bus lane will be a huge benefit to everyone in the long run.

And WODC (who are the planning authority and therefore responsible for granting permission for Rushy Bank) can't spend money on potholes. 

I realise that the way local authorities work, and particularly the way they are funded, is a mystery to most people, and if that is to change, which it desperately needs to, it is up to government to do something about it.

Sun 6 Aug 2023, 08:53

That’s the North Oxford Corridor project putting in a bus lane for services like the S3, which is an excellent idea. 

Sun 6 Aug 2023, 08:51

The chaos in those roadworks seems to be focused on the bridge and probably relates to our “friends” in the utility companies.  The works have certainly gone on for much longer than expected.

Sat 5 Aug 2023, 23:01

If the term "Oxford Corridor" is solely to do with the railway, then why is there a big "Oxford Corridor" sign right beside the chaotic roadworks on the A44 up to the Pear Tree roundabout, which have been wasting a lot of time for a lot of road users and appear to have little to do with the railway, apart from messing about with the bridge over it, which seemed perfectly alright before the aforementioned chaotic roadworks started?

Sat 5 Aug 2023, 21:14 (last edited on Sat 5 Aug 2023, 21:54)

I meant the major road works going into Oxford which have obviously cost a large amount of money and inconvenienced a large number of people over the last year I suspect the majority would have preferred the money to be spent on filling in potholes and repairing road services Rushy  Bank is relevant because our local councillors supported a development which has twice been rejected by the high court with costs being paid by the council Money which could have repaired a lot potholes which again I think the majority of local people would have supported 

Levant

Sat 5 Aug 2023, 16:33

The Oxford Corridor is the term used to describe the refurb to the station in Oxford. I presume you mean that, Tony. Work is being done by Network Rail which is a public body, funded by the present government, which, unless I have been asleep for a very long time, is still Tory. And what has Rushy Bank got to do with any of this?

Sat 5 Aug 2023, 13:58

The money spent on trying to ‘push through’ Rushy Bank could have filled all the potholes in the area and the money spent on the Oxford Corridor could have filled in all of the potholes in Oxfordshire Neither of these were Tory initiatives!

Sat 5 Aug 2023, 11:43 (last edited on Sat 5 Aug 2023, 11:53)

Thanks, Matthew.  Yes, this summarises perfectly the problem we have and the photo in the article of Rishi Sunak and a bunch of councillors smiling as they stare into a pothole is worth a thousand words!

Thu 3 Aug 2023, 16:44

Good article today about the nationwide pothole nightmare (there are an estimated 2 million potholes in the UK, about one for every 34 people!):

Broken roads and broken necks: life in pothole Britain

Interesting stats point out that lack of funding from central government is one of the main causes of the current state of the roads:

"...local authorities received only about two-thirds of what they needed to stop roads from deteriorating further and that more than £14bn is needed to fix the backlog of carriageway repairs"

The government is "...getting £50bn in revenue from road users and giving £1bn back to councils"

And Tony Travers, a professor at the London School of Economics and an expert in regional government, says:

“As the government has, since 2010, squeezed local government budgets, councils themselves have protected social care – and that means everything else councils do has been squeezed even harder..."

So, probably a good idea to write to your MP ha, ha!

Fri 14 Jul 2023, 20:08 (last edited on Fri 14 Jul 2023, 20:08)

Now repaired  - eventually! at what cost to all the damage to tyres, wheels and suspension. That was a long time to wait for a simple fix 

Fri 30 Jun 2023, 16:02

Up to 16 weeks to investigate !!!! How many more claims of damage is possible in that time !   For the sake of say £80 to repair , potentially £1000’s of damage and inconvenience. Unacceptable in the real world 

Fri 30 Jun 2023, 09:41

Steve, I suffered a broken wheel rim, devoured by a pothole out towards Chippy about a fortnight ago. I have submitted a claim on the appropriate form, and OCC have responded saying it could take up to 4 months to investigate and process. There is a bicycle damage option on the form, but it took some finding. 

Thu 29 Jun 2023, 19:39

12 weeks have passed and the problem persists! Is it being taken seriously ??? All the money saved on not cutting the grass verges , and hiding the speed signs and warning markers - obviously not being used to repair the surfaces 

Thu 29 Jun 2023, 11:32 (last edited on Thu 29 Jun 2023, 11:32)

I almost came off my cycle on Sunday morning trying to navigate the multiple potholes down from Wellington Cottages on Park St. Apart from a split front inner tube the new tyre came off the wheel rim. Has anybody had any success in claiming damage for bike repairs? The OCC claim form assumes it is a car that is damaged.

Wed 12 Apr 2023, 07:03

Reply from OCC on report multiple potholes on the Woodstock Rd.

Thank you for your report. These potholes have been programmed in for repair and will be fixed as soon as possible. Thank you.

State changed to: Investigation complete

Sun 9 Apr 2023, 09:30

I heard the Bavarian Illuminati have been creating the potholes to channel the earth's energy and control our minds. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for details of this.

Sat 8 Apr 2023, 16:25

May I suggest that everyone reads Klaus Schwab's Covid 19 - The Great Reset - available on Amazon for about 14 quid - cheaper on a Kindle download. No-one really wants to fund the giant that is Amazon but that's just another part of the problem. He is the head of the WEF and it makes for a very interesting and sobering read - considering the state of the union right now and the topics being discussed on this forum. If you haven't familiarised yourself with this character - then you need to do so now. You may feel it is of no relevance to Charlbury but you can bet you bottomed out dollar that it soon will be.

Thu 6 Apr 2023, 15:14

Update -the nasty pothole in Chadlington now has a white line round it - so it's marked for something?

Thu 6 Apr 2023, 12:14

thanks Christine that's useful info. I got to FMS through the OCC website as it linked directly - ill try reporting it to that number today.

Thu 6 Apr 2023, 12:09

An extraordinarily uninformative video, Nadine! Hardly encouraging public participation in ensuring the safety of our streets.

Here's something I did not know, from the Banbury Guardian in January: "Customers (www.oxfordshire.gov.uk) should not use FMS [FixMyStreet] if the defect is hazardous but call 0345 310 1111. FMS reports are generally investigated within ten days but this could be impacted by holidays etc.” ... 

“If reported as a hazardous/dangerous defect, using the highway enquiries number 0345 310 1111, the repair will generally be a 2-hour or 24-hour repair.”

I was also told by a pothole repair team that a pothole is deemed more dangerous if it's in line with the wheel track of vehicles. 

Thu 6 Apr 2023, 10:37 (last edited on Thu 6 Apr 2023, 11:19)

This is the video reply I received back from my Chad pothole report.

https://youtu.be/Me0USIgvmPQ

Guess that'll be the new lido in Chad if it gets any bigger - perhaps not big enough at the moment.

Wed 5 Apr 2023, 17:55

I know it isn't strictly in Charlbury but I thought it was worth warning people about Leafield Road from the B4437 into the village.  There are some really nasty potholes along that stretch at the side of the road and in the middle. This is despite some being fixed earlier in the year.

Tue 4 Apr 2023, 14:49

I reported the potholes on Saturday. I think everyone should report them though! 

Tue 4 Apr 2023, 07:49

I checked to see if anyone had reported the multiple potholes on the road from Woodstock- not one report so I’ve put one on this morning. The weather is now dry so I guess we wait and see if they get their temporary fillings.   I drove that road last night very slowly back from Oxford in the dark - I suggest other drivers do the same - they are mainly to be found on the stretch between the double bend and the copse but others may catch you out. 

Mon 3 Apr 2023, 17:27

And the weather destroyed the roads is not an argument. It's generally been pretty dry and the road quality outlasts recent bouts of rain. Besides what are the rates for? 
Buses and trains is a pointless diversion. Tories claim to be acting on roads !! 

Mon 3 Apr 2023, 17:25

FABULOUS NEWS!!! @OxfordshireCC will conduct a full investigation into my claim for two destroyed tyres in 6 days - cos of their crap road maintenance costing me £213 - and it will take them THREE months to do this #ToryBritain @robertcourts

Sun 2 Apr 2023, 17:08 (last edited on Sun 2 Apr 2023, 17:27)

Save your tyres (and more) use the train and buses, when and where you can. Is there no obvious correlation between the numbers of vehicles, the number of vehicle movements and the state of the roads, it does seem to be quite obvious, even if you just look at the town or indeed any part of the country. There is also a degree of irony in the JCB machine as Mr. Bamford flies over here, usually twice a day. 

Sun 2 Apr 2023, 13:18

I’m fully aware that Wales is devolved - I’m not an eejit! 

Sun 2 Apr 2023, 10:10 (last edited on Sun 2 Apr 2023, 10:12)

Wales has it's own devolved parliament and is not dependent on the UK parliament for funding road maintenance.  Unlike England which has one of the most centralised governments anywhere in the world. But I digress......perhaps this needs to be combined with the similar thread in the debate section now.

Sun 2 Apr 2023, 07:13 (last edited on Sun 2 Apr 2023, 08:42)

Liz -A meeting with Bamfords/JCB might be an idea - they have launched a machine called the Pothole Pro - perhaps this would be the start of true investment - instead of a quick fix with a massive failure rate. Our garage guy mentioned this also. Considering they are investing right on our doorstep -lots- and would benefit from having good infrastructure to get people in and out of Charlbury. 

see link below - it maybe an investment at the start but it works first time and cuts costs in the long term. That's how public money should be spent.

https://youtu.be/n0_-wzdhpK8

Sun 2 Apr 2023, 07:02

We're obviously getting nowhere with this one.  Perhaps we can look forward to going back to dirt roads, stage coaches and the return of Dick Turpin style characters. I don't buy the climate change reference with regard to roads. The roads in Wales are excellent. Try driving from Monmouth to Chepstow - a smoother ride you'll never find - their weather is wetter that ours. It's underinvestment - years of it and the excuses that go with it.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 19:53 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 19:57)

The potholes have been marked up so that they can be filled but that can't be done as long as they are full of water.  I'm afraid that the torrential rain of the past few days means that we will have to wait a bit longer. Without wishing to divert the discussion, this is what we can expect with climate change - road surfaces damaged by heat, followed by frost and then by extremely wet weather, causing potholes to form. It doesn't help that the  structure of the roads has been neglected for over a decade.  In Cambridgeshire they have an even worse situation caused by the fenland drying out during the very hot summer last year, which in turn has caused the road surfaces to crack, and then expand again with the heavy rainfall, causing the sides of the road to break up. 

And I am not immune to having ripped a tyre on a pothole - it happened to me on Catshall Lane a few months ago in the dark, coming back from a parish council meeting in Chadlington.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 17:41

I've paid £215 on new tyres in 6 days - you can file a claim with Oxfordshire CC if you can be bothered 

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 17:35

I counted over 15 !

Suggest everyone puts the following on FixMyStreet and Twitter:

'@OxfordshireCC : Woodstock Road (Charlbury-A44) Road surface is atrocious and there are at least 15 serious and dangerous potholes that have caused multiple punctures and damage to vehicles. This is urgent and needs immediate attention - serious dereliction of public duty !

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 12:52

This post reminded me of the occasion a few years ago when I reported a pothole adjacent to a manhole cover in Market Street to OCC.  I explained that it was particularly dangerous for drivers coming from Church Street as they had little chance of seeing it in time to avoid it as it was near the corner.

I was phoned some days later by someone from County Highways who said it was a high priority as he had burst a tyre when he hit it as he came to inspect it!

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 11:54

The Chad pothole that burst our tyre and many more is on Horseshoe Lane - just down from Cafe de la Poste on the road to Charlbury. You have been warned people - not visible due to being full of water. Puts me in mind of that sketch with Dawn French when she steps into a puddle and goes in up to her neck. Wont be long!

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 11:40

If the Chadlington one is the one in the dip between Chad and Spelsbury, it’s horrid - on the school run it takes careful positioning to steer the bike between the pothole and the gravel in the middle of the road.

Catsham Lane (south from Chad) is much better now though - OCC closed the road for repairs the other week and it’s made a big difference. 

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 10:43

I find that the water filled potholes are the worst, as we don't know how deep they are. You can easily burst a tyre at 10 mph. The back roads are the worst, so try to avoid those if you can, such as the road south from Chadlington - it is in very bad shape. As is the road from Taston towards Enstone. 

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 07:24 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 11:36)

I have just done my civic duty and went onto Oxfordshire County Council's website to report the pothole on the road from Chadlington. This threw me to Fix My Street. This pothole was first reported on 21 March on that site as a 12" pothole 18" inches from verge E side of road. 15cm deep. The person reporting it said it had caused 2 punctures that he knew of. This pothole has no white line around it so obviously absolutely zip has been done about it so far. It's now 1 April so I have put on my report along with the photos of the pothole and my burst tyre. Let's see if that makes any difference. 

Just been to Chadlington to take measurements of the pothole - It's 15cm deep. We have also taken photos of 3 other cars left abandoned - 2 with the nearside tyres flat and one with a double puncture nearside - in one night and there may have been more. This really is unacceptable. I will update my Fix My Street. The pothole in Horseshoe Lane Chadlington is being reported by many on Fix My Street including damage to all their tyres and wheels. Our local garage who fixed our tyre said he's had 5 burst tyres from potholes this week alongside suspension damage.

Sat 1 Apr 2023, 06:57 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 07:49)

Thanks Mark - that is exactly the type of incident I thought would happen. That potholed section of the Woodstock road needs coning off with traffic lights until the repairs are done before something at lot worse happens. What if this was an Ambulance trying to get to a sick or injured person?

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 23:35

The excessive amount of retained / flooding - for some reason is not draining ! lack of maintenance? on the Enstone road 120 m away from the new traffic calming island- a massive puddle covering half the road - 

A distressed young lady with a double puncture on the Woodstock road , waiting for a recovery vehicle in the middle of nowhere- Indefensible -and unacceptable when trying to travel on roads that have to be questioned - FIT FOR PURPOSE ?  I is think that priorities are wrong ? 

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 21:40

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/pothole-claims/

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 17:57 (last edited on Sat 1 Apr 2023, 10:49)

Noted these yesterday and thought exactly the same - suddenly more and larger than a small inconvenience, no doubt it will take an accident or multiple claims for damaged tyres and wheels before anyone takes it seriously. To suggest driving at 20 mph along a major rural route - is somewhat a silly statement and with size and depth of the offending areas , becoming a health and safety issue !  With the wet weather and night time driving , the pot holes ( craters ! ) are disguised. Having experienced serious damage , another claim heading out to WODC  

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 16:53 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 16:55)

Over the last 15 years local councils have faced some of the steepest funding cuts of any part of the UK public sector. Over the same period those same councils have to pay for the rapidly rising costs of social care partly coming from an aging population. Given care services are “statutory”, councils have had to cut even more money from their other budgets – from libraries to parks and roads to pay for those essential services.

Cutting road maintenance results in more potholes, just as cutting library budgets means closing branches. If we want good quality public services we have to collectively pay for them. 

We blame our politicians, but the fault ultimately lies with us as as citizens because we don’t accept that basic fact.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 13:32

Perhaps if we all drive a little slower, the bumping on potholes might not break the edges quite to quickly making them even bigger. The bigger the vehicle the bigger and deeper the potholes. I also have a very small but very economical car so it's a little easier to avoid some as a SMART car is narrow enough to avoid some. I just don't trust puddles!  :) my comments are not intended to be provocative. Just observations. (I have had 4x4s in the past)

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 13:00

Looks like our roads are doomed to fall into a state of disrepair then. Road Tax is a pooled fund which raises about £7.2 billion but is not necessarily used for road repairs but is allegedly spent on multiple projects which are of benefit - perhaps time to revisit that. This is years of wrong policies and underinvestment in basic infrastructure. Plenty of failed and wasteful projects by government ( don't get me started on that one) and no central procurement or joined up thinking for local councils and this is the result I'm afraid.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:51 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:56)

I couldn't agree more, Nadine.  But to resurface the roads in Oxfordshire alone would cost £250 million.  To put that into context, the recent 2% increase in council tax (the bit that isn't ringfenced for social care) brings in £8 million. The recent allocation of funding to councils by government gave Oxfordshire an extra £3.7 million.  That hardly scratches the surface (excuse the pun)

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:39 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:43)

I’m finding driving extra perilous at the moment because of the deep potholes, which aren’t just at the side of the road.

I drive a small car with small wheels and am beginning to understand the appeal of SUVs!

Can I ask that the drivers of bigger and more powerful cars be more understanding to the drivers of small cars who need to be extra cautious.

And it’s not just Oxfordshire roads, I’ve encountered the same dangerous potholes recently in East Sussex and Kent and even on the motorways.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:37 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:45)

Quoting from the Highwaysindustry.com website

"On National Pothole Day (15 January), the company is highlighting the fact that it costs at least 20 times more per square metre to fill a pothole than it does to resurface a road. Will Baron, product director at Keysoft Solutions, explains: “The backlog of…

Long post - click to read full text

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:21 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 12:35)

NO GOOD JUST REPAIRING THE HOLES WHEN IT GETS THAT BAD - THE ROADS NEED TO BE SAFE FOR ALL TO TRAVEL ON INCLUDING EMERGENCY VEHICLES - THE REPAIRS PERISH TOO QUICKLY - WHICH IS MORE AND MORE EVIDENT  - THERE ARE STRETCHES WHERE ONLY RESURFACING WILL SORT THINGS OUT. IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK THIRD WORLD.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 11:28 (last edited on Fri 31 Mar 2023, 11:32)

The potholes have all been marked up for repair.  They can't be done till we get past the very wet weather we are currently experiencing.  The government funds less than a third of what is actually needed to keep our roads in good condition.  Nothing whatever to do with LTNs which cost nothing to maintain now that we have permanent bollards in place and the  very popular 20 mph scheme is costing £8 million over 3 years which is £4 per year per resident of this county. 

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 11:20

David, if we only drive 20mph the potholes shouldn't cause too much grief.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 11:18

Pot holes on the increase, there are insufficient funds available to repair or resurface roads. Monies which are available needed urgently to spend on 20 mile signage and LTNs.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 08:52

Couldn't agree more - it's challenging on a bike, especially when it's wet and the holes disappear from view. Riding in the middle of the carriageway is currently pothole-free, but not very helpful if you're a motorist trying to safely overtake.

Fri 31 Mar 2023, 08:27

Have other drivers run the gauntlet of the plethora of potholes on the road from Woodstock to Charlbury? Since the onset of wet weather has dislodged the meagre mends it is Swiss Cheese central and won’t be long before someone has serious damage to their vehicle or an accident. It’s all very well drawing white circles around them but that stretch of road needs resurfacing .