“THE state of roads is simply atrocious.”

So says Wiltshire Councillor Richard Budden (Lib Dem, Tisbury), who has joined with the chairs of Donhead St Andrew and Donhead St Mary Parish Councils to call for action over routes in the area.

The plea for action to tackle “broken-down” roads comes as Wiltshire Council says it is investing an extra £10 million in fixing county routes, including resurfacing work and filling in potholes, with the Donheads area set to be reinspected “shortly” to identify required work.

But Cllr Budden said the response from the council at a recent meeting – that they would “respond in due course” to concerns – had been “unacceptable”.

“Since then, the impact of winter weather and storm Henk have only made matters worse,” he went on.

“You cannot drive into or through either of the Donhead communities without coming across stretches where the surface is completely broken down.

“All I have heard from Caroline Thomas is that the council’s officers “will be in a position to reply in due course”.

Cllr John Feltham, left, chair of Donhead St Mary Parish Council inspecting potholes with Cllr Richard Budden and chair of Donhead St Andrew PC, Cllr Simon Barkham

“This is simply unacceptable to the people who live here, with no facilities of their own, who must travel on these broken-down roads every day to get to any and every service: shops, schools, doctors’ surgeries etc.

“They deserve the courtesy at least of a clear statement as to how long they will have to tolerate these awful conditions before they are put right.”

Simon Barkham, chair of Donhead St Andrew Parish Council, added: “These neglected roads are adding an unnecessary stress to the lives of the residents who face a daily battle with broken roads.

“They are dangerous, cause damage to vehicles and cycles and add to the risk of flooding.”

And his counterpart at Donhead St Mary Parish Council, John Feltham, said: “People are trying to use these roads on a daily basis, whether by car, cycle or walking to live their lives; to go to school, the doctors, shopping, or whatever.

“It has got to the stage where they have to choose the least potholed, least dangerous route to make their journey.

“This has come about from years of neglect and it has now reached the stage where major works are needed to make the roads passable and safe again.”

Cllr Caroline Thomas, of Wiltshire Council, said the roads in the Donheads would be reinspected “shortly”

Cllr Thomas (Con, Marlborough East), cabinet member for transport, Street Scene and Flooding, said: “We’re aware of concerns around potholes on C and U/C-class roads in the Donheads area and we’re investing an additional £10m to fund a programme of works to address potholes and increase resurfacing in all areas in the county, including on lower priority roads.

“While other councils around the country are cutting budgets, we are investing millions into the everyday highways improvements that really matter to people, such as filling potholes, resurfacing roads and emptying gullies to prevent flooding.”

She said the funding was on top of “tens of millions” spent on the roads from Department for Transport (DfT) grants.

“However, as the DfT funding does not enable us to address all resurfacing needs, we prioritise the A and B class road network, which carries most of the traffic across the county,” she added.

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“Wiltshire has a vast road network of over 2,800 miles and our additional £10m investment will enable us to tackle more repairs on C and U/C class roads.

“To understand which roads are a priority, we are actively engaging with local communities and town and parish councils through Highways Matters community events and our local highway and footway improvement groups (LHFIGs).

“We will shortly be reinspecting roads in the Donheads area to understand the extent of the work required so that they can be considered in our programme of works.

“We confirmed this course of action at our ‘Highways Matters’ South West Area Board event in November 2023, when these roads were highlighted as a priority by local residents for the additional funding we’re providing.”