“It was like driving on the surface of Mars” - Calls for road in Halifax to be resurfaced after damage to cars

The poor condition of the road means motorists are being left with damage to their vehicles.

Jane Marriott, from Halifax said: “My car has been in the garage three times in the three weeks, its basically rattling apart from the poor road.

“The garage owner said he has had lots of complaints of problems because of that road tracking, bits falling off cars.

“My car has lost a side bumper, which has rattled off, as I have to use the road at least twice every day.

“I heard a banging noise, pulled over and daren’t drive my car, I had to have it recovered to find out it was the bolts from my bull bar which had snapped and been shaken out once again just at the top of that road.

“I wouldn’t mind but they have built a whole new village in Fountain Head and Brackenbed Road is closed for a few weeks due to road works, so it is really busy on Doctor Hill at present.

“It also keeps me awake at night with vans etc rattling up and down. It used to be lovely and peaceful here.”

Justin Stallard, from the Discount Tyres & Exhaust Centre in Pellon, said: “I’ve had quite a few, at least a dozen, people bring their cars because of the road, and they’re just the ones I know about, over the last year or so.

“I went down there not too long ago and it was like driving on the surface of Mars, I’ve never seen craters so deep in all my life.

“I’ve got an increased volume of suspension repairs, and I say ‘where do you live out of interest?’ and it’s all ‘down Fountain Head way’, it’s all coming from there and it’s doing a lot of damage.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to who lives down there, their cars are getting shaken to bits, bumpers are coming off, it’s unbeliveable.

“It’s like a bomb-strewn road, it’s just terrible.

“It should be re-surfaced, that’s the only answer.

“And with these new electric cars that are coming out, they all have lightweight tyres which are paper-thin and so easy to damage, so if you go down it with an electric car, you could end up on the back of a recovery truck.”

Councillor James Baker, (Warley, Lib Dem), said: “There have been numerous complaints made to me as a Councillor about the terrible state of Doctor Hill.

“This problem is exasperated when Brackenbed is closed for extended periods and with the volumes of traffic that these roads now carried. Also the low quality of the temporary tarmac fixes. It’s causing damage to people’s vehicles, and it makes more sustainable forms of transport such as cycling or powered two-wheelers extremely dangerous.

“In response to this problem we recently organised a petition urging the Council for more action to fix our streets.

“The petition was well received. and we have had confirmation there will be an investment in some new pothole busting machinery. This can’t come soon enough for residents affected.”

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Strategy, Coun Jane Scullion, said: “We carry out regular highways safety inspections to tackle potholes, identify problems with road marking and maintain good quality roads. We also rely on residents reporting road defects to enable us to attend to them as soon as possible, this can be done at www.calderdale.gov.uk.

“Every A, B and C road in the borough is also inspected each year and a programme of maintenance agreed to ensure our limited budget is spent where it’s needed most.

“Although there are no plans to resurface Doctor Hill this year, we do carry out regular ‘patching’ and pothole filling works on roads across the borough throughout the year, when issues with road defects or potholes are identified or reported.”