Residents of Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire, have been embroiled in a 64-year dispute with the local council over the repair of Whitebarns Lane.
The row, which dates back to 1960, has reached a new impasse as Hertfordshire County Council has demanded nearly £100,000 from locals to fix 32 potholes.
The council has insisted the 125-metre lane is a public footpath – not a road – so cannot be repaired at public expense, despite the deteriorating surface continuing to cause injuries and vehicle damage to residents.
The situation has now escalated, with the council’s latest quote for repairs standing at £73,000 in 2016.
Accounting for inflation, this figure now approaches £100,000.
Resident Sarah Wright said that the council are “refusing to resurface” the hazardous road
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Resident Sarah Wright, 59, expressed her frustration, saying: “It is terrible because the council are refusing to resurface it.
“They fill it with road chippings on a regular basis and they come out of the potholes if it rains, making the surface even more dangerous.”
The lane serves as the sole access point for a mix of social and privately owned houses, exacerbating the issue for local residents, who have reported numerous safety concerns due to the lane’s poor condition.
Wright highlighted instances of injuries, including an elderly grandmother who fell and hit her face while walking with her grandchildren.
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She added: “The elderly people are petrified to use the lane if they fall and hurt themselves. We’ve had ambulances refuse to come down the road.”
Douglas Debnam, a 79-year-old resident with visual impairment, shared his struggles, saying: “I have to watch where I am walking with the potholes so I don’t trip into them. You’ve got to walk through all of these potholes and they’re getting to a point where they are uncountable because one is going into another.”
The dispute over Whitebarns Lane has a long history, with local newspaper reports dating the row back to 1960, when a local news article in Herts Mercury from 1980 referred to an “already 20-year battle” to address the lane’s condition.
Wright obtained a letter from 1967 through a Freedom of Information request, which stated that further residential developments off Whitebarns Lane would not be acceptable until the road was brought up to Hertfordshire County Council standards.
The dispute over Whitebarns Lane has a long history, with local newspaper reports dating the row back to 1960
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Despite this, more homes were built without resolving the road issue. The houses were initially owned by East Herts District Council until 2002, when they were sold to a housing association.
A spokesperson from Hertfordshire County Council said: “It would potentially be possible to adopt Whitebarns Lane as a public road, but only if the landowner, or the residents living along the lane, were able to bring it up to an acceptable standard.”
The council has offered to contribute towards the cost of necessary works.
The spokesperson added: “In the meantime, we will continue to maintain Whitebarns Lane as a public footpath.”
