READER OPINION: '˜I am dismayed by the decaying state of our streets and roads'

In the past three/four weeks, in an attempt to get a little fitter, I have been getting up half-an-hour earlier and walking from my home in the Forton area of Gosport (some two-plus miles) to the Hutfield Link where I then catch a bus to my place of work in Fareham.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Jul 2017, 10:32 BST
Updated 12th Sep 2017, 11:48 BST

While I am really enjoying the exercise, I find I am somewhat dismayed at the decaying state of our streets and roads.

Apart from the reams of rubbish, dog mess and human vomit, the roads are pitted with potholes, the pavements are a combination of patchwork, cracked and uneven surfaces, and in many areas there are gardens sprouting from the gutters.

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I am a little under five foot and in some areas, most especially the A32 between Brockhurst and the Holbrook Leisure Centre, I am having to duck underneath overgrown trees and the pavements have shrunk in width to accommodate the overgrowth of many trees and bushes which means I am walking ever closer to the heavy traffic on the A32.

Brewers Arch is another area which is badly overgrown and very unkempt.

On telephoning the council I am advised that road care now comes under Hampshire County Council and not the local authority.

I really don’t care whose responsibility it is I just want it done – it’s what we pay our council tax for.

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I wonder if the more affluent areas like Alverstoke and Lee are suffering the same appalling lack of care that the poorer areas endure – all in the name of ‘government cutbacks’?

My solution? Let’s get rid of a few chiefs and employ some more Indians, ’cos it’s the people at the bottom end of the ladder that keep the wheels turning, not the chief sat in his oversized chair in his oversized office with his oversized salary.

Deborah Wheatley

Forton,

Gosport

Related topics:GosportFarehamA32