MP's system holding up pothole repairs, says leader

Road repairs were being held up because an MP launched his own pothole-reporting system, senior councillors have said.

Kay Mason Billig, the Conservative leader of Norfolk County Council, accused Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe of wasting taxpayers' money by setting up the service.

She said his scheme – whereby constituents report potholes to Lowe and he then puts complaints to the council – had left officers spending hours on duplicate complaints.

Lowe, a Restore Britain MP, said the system had been "a huge success" and had led to problems being resolved.

The reporting system was set up in January by Lowe, who said he would chase pothole problems until they were fixed.

But at a meeting of the council's cabinet on Tuesday, senior councillors said the new system was slowing things down, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Graham Plant, the cabinet member for highways, said council officers had spent more than 40 additional hours chasing up complaints made via Lowe's office.

"It's now taking more time to repair defects in the Yarmouth area because they are being double handled," Plant said.

He also said complaints made directly to the council were dealt with "usually within three days".

"They're costing taxpayers' money," Mason Billig added.

Lowe has called the accusations "pathetic nonsense" and argued his scheme was working.

"Dozens and dozens of local residents across the Great Yarmouth constituency have come forward with potholes and we have had huge success in resolving many of those issues," he said.

Pothole problems and how to resolve them were a regular source of debate in local politics and particularly during election times.

Next month the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Reform will contest the council's 84 seats.

Lowe, who left Reform last year, has said his Great Yarmouth First party will also challenge for nine of them.

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