How should Devon's potholes be tackled?

A pothole on Dolvin Road in Tavistock has been marked for repair

Potholes are a major problem in Devon with the backlog of repairs thought to have an estimated cost of about £200m.

Candidates campaigning to be elected as a Devon County Council member in elections on 1 May say problems on Devon's roads are the number one issue raised by members of the public on the doorstep.

Potholes are caused by ground water and heavy traffic and Tavistock, nestled in the heart of the Tamar Valley and on the edge of Dartmoor, has plenty of wet weather and lorries driving through the town.

We spoke to a local resident who campaigns for potholes to be fixed and to candidates from the five main parties about what they would do about the situation.

Dave Newcombe has become known as Tavistock's Mr Pothole for his work campaigning for better road surfaces

Dave Newcombe pulls together information on where potholes develop in Tavistock and puts pressure on Devon County council to fix them.

He said the main gripes of people in the town were the amount of time it took to fix potholes and the quality of the repairs carried out.

Mr Newcombe said: "The potholes we've got have been here for quite a while and they've been marked out for repair, the paint is eroding, nothing seems to happen.

"The council don't seem to be accountable for what they're doing - if a repair is undertaken and fails within a short time it's redone again so we're paying for it again which I think is a waste of money."

Debo Sellis is standing as the Conservative candidate for Tavistock

Debo Sellis is the Conservative candidate for Tavistock.

She said she wanted to see a change to the policy that decides which potholes get repaired.

Devon County Council currently only carries out work on potholes that have a 4cm (1.5in) vertical edge and are 30cm (12in) wide.

She said: "If we can change that policy and we can use new materials we'll be able to future-proof the asset to do surface-dressing and repairs."

Holly Greenberry-Pullen is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Tavistock

Holly Greenberry-Pullen is the Liberal Democrat candidate for Tavistock.

She said: "What I'm hearing repeatedly at the doorstep is that residents are really dissatisfied with the significant amount of road repairs required across the whole of Devon.

"We need to have industry experts examine the situation, feed back to us and then potentially bring these repairs in-house."

She said that would stop taxpayers' money being spent on "huge profits" for contractors from corporate companies.

Gary Clifford is the Reform candidate for Tavistock

Gary Clifford is the Reform UK candidate for Tavistock.

He said he would like to see the council hiring a private contractor with specialist equipment to tackle potholes.

He said: "Modern specialist equipment is much faster - the seals they put in are permanent.

"We haven't got to go back over them and reinstate failed pothole repairs."

Gemma Loving is the Labour candidate for Tavistock

Gemma Loving is the Labour candidate for Tavistock.

She said: "I'm an architect, I work in the construction industry and I believe in a quality solution the first time round.

"It's about focussing money in a structured and organised way.

"I think it's also about making sure that money isn't wasted and that when a job's done it's done properly."

Sara Wood is the Green Party candidate for Tavistock

Sara Wood is the Green party candidate for Tavistock.

She said: "Funding needs to be allocated for repairing the roads - maybe a little less for making new roads.

She said the funding needed to come from central government and that local authorities were "on their knees" financially.

Ms Wood also said there needed to be improvements to public transport.

A pothole in the road leading up to the Drake's statue roundabout in Tavistock

Elections for Devon County Council will take place on Thursday.

Councillors will be elected for 60 seats across Devon and the counts will take place on Friday.

A list of all of the candidates in all of the seats is available here.

These are expected to be the last elections for Devon County Council before all county councils and district councils are abolished in a reorganisation of local government.

• POSTCODE LOOKUP: Check if there is an election in your area

• SIMPLE GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the local elections

• GET IN TOUCH: Tell us the election issues that matter to you

• FULL COVERAGE: Catch up on all our election stories