DRIVERS in Comberbach are feeling ‘positive’ now work is set to begin fixing ‘massive' potholes plaguing the village.

Residents were angry after potholes on Marbury Road, Gibb Hill, and Cogshall Lane were left to develop before being judged suitable for repair by Chester West and Chester Council (CWAC).

The quality of patching work in the area has also been criticised after shoddy repairs – which were acknowledged by CWAC – actually made the problems worse.

CWAC has now committed to addressing the problem, and has announced 4,000sqm of ‘kerb to kerb’ resurfacing on Marbury Road in Comberbach village, long with another 2.3km of spot repairs on other sections.

The work to resurface Comberbach village will begin on Monday, March 11, and last until Friday, March 15. During this time, diversions will be in place throughout the day.

Line painting will see nighttime road closures and diversions on March 18 and 19.

Patching work elsewhere on Marbury Road is set for Monday, March 18, and Thursday, March 28, again with some diversions throughout the day.

Homes and business, including farms, within the closure zones will still be able to use the road, but through travel will not be an option for non-residents at these times.   

Marc Byram, who has spoken out against the potholes, says he’s positive about the announcement, but hopes the council make sure their contractors do the job right first time.

He said: “A whole new surface is good news indeed

“You’ve got to remain positive about it, but Comberbach has to have something done to it. It really is dreadful.

“It’s great CWAC is taking some action, and that they had it already in the pipeline. 

“I suspect might not be the end of it though. I know Gibb Hill had a whole new surface no more than a couple of years ago, and it’s now got massive potholes in it.

“The question is, how will the work be overseen? It’s the quality of the repairs which matters.

“Yes, resurfacing causes inconvenience, but everyone’s willing to put up with inconvenience if it means we get a good job done.

“But if it’s not a good job, and we’ve got to go through it all again, it isn’t so good.”

CWAC is currently investigating what it calls 'works not completed to its required specification' on Gibb Hill, and has addressed the problem with the contractor responsible.  

A spokesman said: “More than 4,000sqm of carriageway will be completely resurfaced kerb-to-kerb.

“For the remainder of Marbury Road towards Anderton, we’ve also planned enhanced patching works, which will vastly improve the condition of more than 2.3km of road in this location alone.

“This planned patching will use an innovative piece of plant called a Hydrohog, which utilises hydrogen in the fuel mix to reduce the CO2 emissions associated with the works.”