Anger over potholes and flooding on 'forgotten' road

Buttery Lane, which runs between Teversal and Skegby, is in “an appalling state and getting worse by the day”, says Richard Goad, who is leading the drive for action.

But he claims the road has been “forgotten” by Nottinghamshire County Council whom he has been urging to fix it since 2017.

Now the council has promised that Buttery Lane is definitely scheduled for repair work.

The problems have already led to at least two accidents involving drivers, and Mr Goad, 74, is convinced that a serious one is “waiting to happen” unless something is done soon.

"A mum broke the steering of her car on a pothole when returning from collecting her child from school,” he revealed.

"And I heard that a young man, out driving for the first time after passing his test, ended up in a ditch alongside the road because he was trying to avoid the potholes.

"It is shocking. There are at least 20 potholes, some of which are horrific. The regular flooding turns the lowest point of the road into a ford, which disguises dangerous potholes because they are full of water.”

The road is one of only three ways into Teversal, but it is the one motorists are directed to use by their satnavs.

The problems have become so bad that many villagers now avoid Buttery Lane. But recently, sewage works taking place nearby left them with no choice.

Mr Goad, who used to be chief executive officer of Mansfield District Council, added: “I have been to places such as Ukraine, Bosnia and Romania through my work carrying out election monitoring, and the roads there are not as bad as this.

“Even the people living in those countries would raise their eyebrows at the state of Buttery Lane.

"We want action. The potholes need to be filled in, and the flooding sorted out, with proper drainage.

"Sadly, the road personifies the lack of interest that the county council has shown towards the parlous state of rural roads.

"The view of local people is that Via, the council’s highways contractor, is ignoring the north of the county. Money is only being spent in the south.”

A spokesperson for the county council, Gary Wood, head of highways and transport, said: “We are aware of potholes on Buttery Lane, and works have been ordered on this stretch of road.

"Our top priority is to keep the highways safe for all road-users, so where potholes are found and meet our criteria for repair, our teams will schedule them for work.

"Heavy rainfall and freezing temperatures over the winter have caused a number of potholes , and they can appear very quickly in these conditions.

"Reporting a pothole to us is very simple and can be done through our website (https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/transport/roads/potholes/report-a-pothole)or through the council’s MyNotts app.

"Investigations into reports of flooding on Buttery Lane are continuing.”