A plan to repair one of Brightlingsea’s most uneven roads is heading for the drawing board – but the money to carry out the works may not be allocated until 2024.
Bellfield Avenue has had over 90 repairs in 30 years in an attempt to fix it. The road suffers from subsidence and the cost of sorting out the issues could be around £700,000.
This week, Brightlingsea’s county councillor Alan Goggin confirmed that funds are available this year to plan repairs but money to complete them won’t be available until ECC’s next tax year – and could disappear if other projects take priority.
ECC has completed topographical surveys of the road and the council’s cabinet member for highways, Lee Scott, has also visited to see the problems first hand.
“The latest news is very bad, in that the solution is far more expensive than anybody ever imagined,” said Cllr Goggin. “A complete rebuild is needed. Original estimates were £150,000 – £200,000 and the revised estimates are now closer to £700,000. This could be the most expensive spend on a non-priority route in the county.
He added: “In the meantime nobody wants to leave the bad situation as it is for another nine months, so within the next six to eight weeks it has been approved that micro surfacing will be undertaken. To be clear this is in advance of the complete works next year, and is not meant as a permanent solution.”
Cllr Goggin said the resurfacing would make the road safer, but would “not be pretty”. Residents may be contacted by letter about the repairs.
“I am aware it’s not as quick as we would all like, but eventually it should put an end to the long-term suffering of the residents,” said Cllr Goggin. “This could be the most expensive spend on a non-priority route in the county.”
