Swindon road surfaces damaging homes claim residents

William Fernandes, Darryl Vas and councillor Adorabelle Shaikh near Manchester Road

Residents of a Wiltshire town says poor road surfaces are damaging their properties and disturbing their sleep.

They said vibrations from heavy vehicles hitting the rough surface on County Road and nearby Manchester Road in Swindon, travel into their homes.

"I was doing my kitchen last year and the vibrations were shaking the tiles off the walls," Darryl Vas claimed.

The council said the roadworks were on their "radar".

Both Darryl Vas and William Fernandes live on County Road near its junction with Manchester Road, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Mr Vas, 42, said: "The problem is the tyres hitting the potholes and the ruts and the shock of that."

"The foundations of the house are only 40cm deep and the vibration goes into the ground deeper than that and comes up into the house," added Mr Fernandes.

"It shakes the bedrooms in my house, it disturbs my children's sleep."

"I'm sure if this was north or west Swindon this would have been done long ago," said councillor Adoreabelle Shaikh

Councillor Adorabelle Shaikh shared disappointment that the area was not higher on Swindon Borough Council's priority list.

She said there were 16 yellow-ringed potholes in a 10-yard stretch of Manchester Road.

"There's a drain here which has been covered in asphalt and blocked, so it floods here, and as buses and lorries drive over the broken-up surface of the road you can see it all move."

"Central ward is always left behind," she added.

'Not imminent'

Councillor Kevin Parry, cabinet member for highways maintenance, said the sections of the two roads were "on the radar of our asset management team for review for future capital resurfacing works".

He said the major repair works were "not imminent" given the wider overall prioritising of roads across the borough.

Mr Parry added: "We do not prioritise road surfacing works based on a councillor going to the press, any more than we would from ward members putting undue pressure on the team in any other underhand way."