It took quite a while to organise a cover-up for this mega pothole that is 3ft wide and 4ft deep. It appeared in Beech Avenue two weeks ago. The Inverness Courier claims it goes for a further seven feet under the road as well.
Gavin Mackintosh is quoted in the Courier, he contacted the newspaper after getting nowhere with the Council or the water authority:
' "They are blaming each other," he said. " I am at my wit's end. I have three kids. I cannot let them out. There are other children who play in the street and it is now the school holidays. They could climb into the hole and disappear."
Mr Mackintosh informed council officials he was alerting the Courier and within hours, workmen arrived at the scene to place a metal plate over the hole and erect barriers around it. "Nothing happened for two weeks but when the Courier was mentioned, something happened the same day," Mr Mackintosh revealed.'
A Gurn photographer who headed for the scene was not impressed with the state of the roads generally around the Beech Avenue area, one wonders how many of the wee potholes have the potential to copy this one?
Somebody needs to knock together the relevant heads in the Highland Council and Scottish Water. There seems to be an ongoing feud here. The two organisations seem to be like two wee boy's shoving and pushing each other or whining 'it wisnae me, he did it'. Time someone's arse got a skelping! Sort it out boys, now!
ReplyDeleteOwnership of holes means spending money, our money!
ReplyDeleteHighland Council haven't got any and neither have Scottish Water, they spent all theirs (ours) on dealing with the aftermath of the tram work somewhere
Solution seems to be DIY I reckon, some sand off the beach should do it
You pay council tax and money to Scottish water - tough
A call to Health and Safety might also have been quite effective, considering some of the more recent news stories!
ReplyDeletethe whole town is the same the a 96 though the town is like a farm track pot holes all over it you can watch cars weave in and out too avoid them. i seem too remember seeing some were they were going too be doing repairs. or was that a april fool joke. the main road certainly is.
ReplyDeleteThe photo doesn't suggest a Health & Safety issue Brian@MyNairn.com
ReplyDeleteThe offending hole is covered with a steel plate, sandbag on top, and is surrounded by temporary fencing which is also sandbagged
It is unsightly and unpleasant for local residents, but I'm not sure as to what grounds you would get H&S involved?
It would be interesting to find out as many works in progress are left in a similar state overnight
"The offending hole is covered with a steel plate, sandbag on top, and is surrounded by temporary fencing which is also sandbagged"
ReplyDeleteI meant before it was covered up and fenced off. :)
The bigger problem is what, literally, lies below. If it goes back 7 feet then it sounds like the visible hole is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg! There's no old mines under Beech Avenue?
ReplyDelete" Brian @ MyNairn.com said...
ReplyDelete"The offending hole is covered with a steel plate, sandbag on top, and is surrounded by temporary fencing which is also sandbagged"
I meant before it was covered up and fenced off. :)"
You've lost me there Brian@MyNairn.com
Had Health & Safety been called in first, they in turn would surely have asked for the offending hole to be made secure in the way that it has, or repaired?
Perhaps you work for H&S and know they would have acted differently, or indeed have called them yourself over a similar incident, either way it would be useful to know :)
"Had Health & Safety been called in first, they in turn would surely have asked for the offending hole to be made secure in the way that it has, or repaired?"
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what I meant - with the addition that they would probably not have allowed the HC to drag their feet. :)
"That's exactly what I meant - with the addition that they would probably not have allowed the HC to drag their feet."
ReplyDeleteSeems to me Brian@MyNairn.com as though you didn't really mean anything re your comments on Health & Safety becoming involved as you are just surmising as to the outcome of their involvement, but thanks for clearing that one up!