The Beatles were responsible for many things in life but one of the things the moptops from Merseyside provided to the world was the number of holes in Blackburn, Lancashire. Okay, you could be unkind and make a reference to the area being a single hole but on their track A Day In The Life, the band announced that there were 4,000 holes in Blackburn and that we now know how many holes it would take to fill the Albert Hall!
Recent figures suggest that Greater Manchester currently has an issue with potholes and in the entire area, there have been more than 16,000 complaints about potholes in the past year. The Manchester Evening News has been running with this story which they claimed originated from a freedom of Information request made by the Federation of Small Businesses.
Stockport is in the top three for pothole complaints
The area that has been deemed to have the biggest problem with potholes is Oldham, with a total of 3,594 complaints being made to the town hall. Bolton came in second place with 2,642 complaints and then Stockport comes third out of the 10 councils with a total of 2.315 requests.
Bury had 2,198 requests, Trafford experienced 2,132 requests, Tameside endured 1,484 requests, Salford had a total of 748 requests, Wigan had a total of 657 complaints and there were a total of 295 complaints in Rochdale. The total number of complaints amounted to 16,047 and it is said that a major operation is being lined up to deal with potholes.
While the news looks back on first read, this is actually a step forward for Stockport as the number of complaints made about potholes in the area has fallen. Perhaps people are now taking the potholes as part and parcel of daily life or maybe there is work being undertaken to improve the condition of roads in the Stockport area.
In fact, you have to say that the council in Stockport are taking this issue seriously, citing a 9 year plan to repair their roads. This is currently the third year of the development, so there is still a long way to go until we see a massive improvement and who knows, by the time they get around to finishing it, it could be time to start all over again!
It is not as if this is going to be a major issue for local residents or people looking to buy property in Stockport, but it is a factor. There are many aspects that make up the quality of life for people and it could well be that folk decide that potholes and other minor elements all add up. However, with improvements promised, there is hope that life in Stockport will become a lot smoother in the future.
For all your property needs, please contact Spencer Harvey Estate and Letting Agents on:
0161 480 8888
https://www.spencerharvey.co.uk