Featherstone Make a Difference Forum

noticed the pot holes in Station Lane today near Drannys shop are now like bloody crators, im sure a single decker bus vanished down one at lunchtime, its a disgrace all around this area

Yes I noticed them too, makes you wonder what all the millions in road tax being spent on  ???

WMDC have supposedly had Fev down for Station Lane repairs to North Fev for months. Have to say that when a large percentage of a main streets road surface goes missing you have to wonder the reason why?

Noticed the signs up in the Lane today about re-surfacing to start on Sunday I think I saw, at last

Station lane resurfacing is a right mess, only in fev would they get away with such a bad job

What a bloody poor job that wasn’t worth waiting for. Nice for a couple of days! One guess where the pot holes and cracks are starting already? Yep in the same places they were before. More years of a bumpy road ahead! Sounds just like Featherstone. :(

It must be the worst newly resurfaced road in Yorkshire, all the chipping are piled up in the middle and not actually stuck to the road. It must be causing motorists thousands of pounds in stone chip repairs ? Please send all repair bills to your local councillor  >:(

Just found out the resurfacing of Station Lane is far from complete due to the weather on the day they have to redo parts of it. Plus there is another surface dressing to be put on and all drain covers have to be raised. ;D

Give up, ya kidding ;D

No sorry,
that should have been,
"Newyork,Newyork so good they had to name it twice"

Or just in little old Fev

"Fevstone, Fevstone, due to complaints they had to do it twice"
 ;) ;D

If it was down to the weather why didn’t they stop ? Why haven’t all the loose chipping been swept up ? They are a hazard. Why is common side lane so bad but highways are wasting time and money by installing block paving into the road on Girnhill lane ?

Good questions  ;D ???

What the hell is the block paving for? Another waste of tax payers money if you ask me

road tax isn't spent on the maintenance of local roads. Local roads are the responsibility of the council.

Road tax in any case only constributes in part to the maintenance and development of the road system.

You should complain to your councillor.
If the pot hole is big deep enough and wide enough to be a hazard to traffic, then the council couild find themselves in serious trouble in the event of an eccident-cyclists are p[articularly vulnerable, but other users too.

I’ve only seen block paving outside the corra have they done any further up Girnhill ?

Hi
I have followed lots of stories for a while. Thought it time to join in.

I work on Station Lane. I keep hearing wheels spinning and vehicles sliding on the gravel. A friend of mine had her car back ended this week on Station Lane. Does anyone know what is going on? Where are road sweepers? When I went to Dranys this morning for the papers the crossing zig zag lines are painted on the road. No other road I have seen in Pontefract or Castleford has been the same. In Wakefield they take the tar up properly and replace.

Hi welcome to the forum  :)  your questions and the ones I’ve raised should be being asked by our local councillors. The council can do whatever they want without opposition. Station lane is a disgrace and only in Featherstone would they get away with it, Block paving looks nice though  ;D 

people should drive according to the road conditions whatever they are.
If peoples' wheels are 'spinning', and they are 'back ending' each other, then it is they who are at fault no matter how poor the state of the road.

people should drive according to the road conditions whatever they are.
If peoples' wheels are 'spinning', and they are 'back ending' each other, then it is they who are at fault no matter how poor the state of the road.
DITTO

What about motorcycles ? Even at the slowest speed possible its like riding on marbles, its a hazzard which shouldn't be there in the first place and is easily sorted.

mentioned in my previous post: they and cyclists are the most vulnerable. But the principle remains. You drive/ride in accordance with the road conditions. If the road is too dangerous to ride on get off and walk, and make sure you complain.

The council are storing up major trouble for themselves if they don't do something about it.

Hang on a minute. Ok there are some idiot drivers but lets not forget most of the gravel has ended up at the side of the road and across junctions. Most cars pulling out on to the lane as carefully as they can have wheel spun.
Im getting a cost saving idea! :P WMDC highways don’t sweep the loose chippings any more. They pass the cost to drain cleaning who will have to suck it out of the manholes.
Manholes! That was a good one today. Metal grates dug out and replaced with plastic. Another good cost cutter. The scrap value should pay well. Wonder if WMDC have a salvage license like we all now have to have? ;) ;D

Hurray a road sweeper…..well for about 8 minutes before he didn’t see the cones in the road and swept one up causing a breakdown. Still lots of gravel it appears that someone should be sweeping. Love today’s work. Keep digging and bodging. How much gravel and tar can a gutter take to fill? ::)

Hurray a road sweeper…..well for about 8 minutes before he didn’t see the cones in the road and swept one up causing a breakdown.

PMSL :P

Oh dear, things are just getting worse. Station Lane contractors are not supposed to start work until 8am. As usual today they started much earlier and were finished by 8.10am. By chance I was stood talking on George Street as 3 road working vehicles pulled in. What happened next is beyond belief. All 3 vehicles un-loaded their equipment and moved it to a grate on the corner. The residue tarmac and tar was scraped from tools and barrows in to the grate. The dark stain is the wet tar that was poured out. On the surface you can see a significant mess on a street that isn’t to be touched. Even more of a concern is the drain clearly now full of tar. How many other drains have they done this to? By luck who should then walk past but a WMDC officer. Let’s hope he reports it as the district council appear to have no balls to stop the mess.

(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg99/yetion1/Image069.jpg)

(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg99/yetion1/Image070.jpg)

(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg99/yetion1/Image071.jpg)

Thats just crazy. Hope you got their reg number and reported them. Someone should be sacked for that. You can clearly see the drain is now full of tarmac. What in Gods name were they thinking when they did that? This needs taking further, much further, i've never seen anything as ridiculous in my entire life.

The gulley is now blocked,hope we don't get a couple of days heavy rain ::)

Right folks,just been told it was contractors that did it WMDC have contacted them and told them to make it good the Lads that did it were sacked on the spot.

As of 5.30pm today (over 24hours after being reported) this drain is still blocked and un-cleared. Lots more to follow shortly ;) ;D

4.35pm today, over 48 hours and a good rain fall later the drain is still blocked and full of water. Hope the road surfacing doesnt take as long to put right ; :o

Bloody ridiculous...heads should roll over this fiasco.

Guess what? Day 3 at 2pm, yep drains still blocked.
Are you ready for more jokes……………
Between 3 district Cllrs there have been various replies that are all false. The road surface is not an undercoat but a failed job that someone also forgot to put the new drains in prior to laying. It gets better. The road is as good as it gets. WMDC have given in and are just going to leave it as it is. Sorry not quite as it is as they have decided to waste more of our money by having some badly painted lines put on it today.
Second best for Featherstone again as the council and local Cllrs turn a blind eye and toe the party line. I can think of 3 people who need sacking to start with.

Disgraceful, this is why Fev needs another independent councillor

Forgive me, but is that realy it, finished?

like Bickerton you mean?


This isn't a political issue it's an administrative one, and the responsibility probably doesn't even lie with Featherestone Council.
P wonder if anyone has even contacted the relevant Featherstone councillor about this quite legitimate issue.

That made me laugh. Nice one

I was thinking more like Kay but yes Roy would do

do what? His trackl record suggests all sorts of possibilities

Almost 5 days later.............
Drains still blocked ::)

Looks like we aren’t not the only ones moaning, below is a cracking admission from Cllr Dick. Admission yes but can you understand there is something missing? Next year!


Hi Glynn,
This is on a notorious web site run by our local  bolt seller and DIY expert. Most of what he puts on is rubbish but this looks dire, what on earth were they playing at. We are under fire for the state of Station Lane and that it will not be finished until NEXT year and now this. Why don’t we just give him a big stick to beat us with.
Regards
Dick

Dick,

Thank you for drawing this issue to our attention.  Glynn has asked me to respond on behalf of Transportation and Highways.

You have seen my previous correspondence regarding the partial failure of the new road surface.  Although the two year guarantee will make things good, I acknowledge that this does not help with the reputational damage it causes.  Please be assured that this issue will be resolved to the satisfaction of all.

The issue reported here will be investigated as a matter of urgency.  The company in question, Messrs Colas, have done a lot of good work for us over the last few years, but the actions reported are wholly unacceptable.  I have copied Mike Smith and Scott Baxter, who have been managing this contract.  Should the allegations prove to be founded (as it appears they will be), at the very least the gullies will be cleansed and proved by Colas.

If you propose to respond to the complainant, you can assure him that robust action will be taken.

Kind regards.

Paul Platts

Group Engineer - Network Management
 
City of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council
Regeneration & Economic Growth
Planning, Transportation & Highways Services

I thought Kay was Labour now? or did I miss something?
With all due respect I don't think the appointment of Roy would go down too well at the moment what with one thing and another. Perhaps the people of Featherstone would be better off tarmacking the Lane themselves and unblocking the drains themselves. There's one thing that is for sure - no one could make a bigger b o l o x than has been attempted so far. It looks like Baghdad airport runway after it was carpet bombed by B52's.

where does this document come from?

It looks as though an outside contractor has not delivered the require service. It is they who are responsible for the mess, no matter what good work they have done in the past.

I think 'next year' is unacceptable.

Thwe congtracors should be and rthere's no reason why they couldn't be called in right now to make good trhe defects. Are the council going to wait for an accident to happen as winter approaches?

Yes unfortunately she is but before she turned there’s no way she’d have let them get away with such a shoddy job
Maybe not ;D  but as sparky says don’t believe everything you read  ;)

Maybe not   but as sparky says don’t believe everything you read.

So he's innocent then? ;D

Innocent of what ? Its not my job to judge him without any evidence, only time will tell  :)

Nor is it my job to judge him whistleblower, but i took your comment to mean the press report wasn't true ;D

Oh the press report, Only Roy knows the real truth everybody else is making assumptions. If he’s innocent then fine, if he’s proven guilty then throw the book at him

Looks like my thoughts on another thread, Did You Know, have crossed over to this one.
I have no wish to get involved in local politics, involving Councillors.
My thoughts were aimed at general trivia, that appears on web sites, that sometimes are shown to be untrue.
This forum, can post useful local information & topics,  but when it comes to being a personal slanging match, PITY, count me out.
May be I should keep off it.

I'm not in a personal slanging match sparky, if i missunderstood whistleblowers comment i appologise to him  ;D ;D

No need to apologise it’s a discussion forum  ;D  and that’s what were doing discussing, as far as I’m aware nobody’s slanging anyone  ???  but if sparky doesn’t want to get involved its his prerogative.  ;)

Sorry folks for the misunderstanding, there was nothing aimed at me.
It was just a general comment about the forum, I have often seen abusive comments between members, that go way over the top.
 Which I don't like to see.
I just didn't explain it well enough.

Days now turn in to week 1 and still the drain is blocked. If it takes as long to clear as to work out how to fix the lane it will be winter 2014 for a new surface.
Politics is always a hot topic and I applaud those who have just been brave enough to keep a thread for what it is. Yes current Cllrs stand in the firing line.
Sparky you are as ever a refreshing change of view.

I've just been on a walk around the town and was looking at the condition of the roads and especially the paths as I walked. The paths are a particular cause for concern, after humpteen projects in which fibre optics were laid, new gas mains and so forth the reinstatement jobs are terrible. Sunken sections where contractors havn't got the reinstatement up to the existing level are a definate concern for the elderly tripping, frost damaged sections along the curb side of the path are another cause for concern and with winter approaching I can see much more widespread damage on the way.
I can honestly say that paths and roads in the 1960's and 70's were much better in Featherstone than they are now and that shouldn't be the case. Considering how much rates and tax we all pay they should be up to scratch but it seems its not just Featherstone that suffers because the UK roads are now officially the worst in the EU. Everywhere you go in this town you will find a labyrinth of patched up paths and roads in a terrible state of repair, the sad thing is as time progresses these will become worse.
Here is a possible solution to the problem or at least to part of the problem:-
Developers are planning to build 450 new homes here in the next few years, have a meeting with these developers and say to them - if you really care about this town like you have suggested in your fancy internet plans then you will take our 10 worst roads and paths in the town and relay them as part of a good will agreement. No one can say that these developers can't afford it because they can, they are among the richest businessmen in Europe. So if they really care about the environment and Feath then lets see them put their money where their mouth is and give us something back in return for the space we have provided for them to make millions and millions.

Thats a cracking post primax.....agree with you 100% ;D

What has really hacked me off this year is seeing the (little used and in decent state of repair) footpath from Purston to Ackworth completely resurfaced whilst the people of Featherstone wait even longer for one our busiest roads (Station Lane) to be given a decent surface.  >:(

Would it be possible for wmdc to put some block paving on common side lane please or even just fill in the potholes with tarmac, I’m sure my road tax will cover it £460 ? I know your probably all run off your feet what with your office Christmas parties to arrange but please try,  Or maybe our local councillors could arrange to have it done ? Just think of the photo opportunity !! Thanks very much  :)

Just been down Girnhill lane where the new block paving has been laid. People of the forum really need to go take a look at the state of the road. It really does need ripping up and resurfacing because its that bad. I don't see the logic in fancy block paving while the rest of the same road is in a terrible state. Surely it would have been better to relay the entire road instead of wasting it on block paving. Someone isn't thinking right.

Agree with you primax,how are they going to revamp the rest of the road without disturbing the new block paving ??? ::)

Loads of people in the lane today moaning about the block paving and the road been closed, I wish I dare share some of the comments  :-X ;D ;D

Worrying, looks like we are not going to have Station Lane re-surfaced then as January has come and gone. Was wondering what the yellow lines painted on the road at the top of Station Lane were for. If it is for this passed application the future looks bleak. As usual no one gives a dam.

Wakefield Council
Highways Act 1980 Section 26
Creation Order – Increasing the legally recorded width of public footpath Featherstone 15 off Pontefract Road.
At Post Office Rd it will be increased to 5.0 metres
The Public footpath is recorded as being 1.8 metres the existing width is 3metres. Proposal will legally increase the path

The yellow lines are for the green lane link road that's scheduled to start in august,the 15 is the jubilee steps footpath,station lane is still in the pipeline for resurfacing  ;D

Thank you for trying to find out. Not having a go but this is serious and could be another major Featherstone disaster.
The application quoted has nothing to do with the first two items you have mentioned.
The application shown is Station lane. Please take a look at the yellow lines sprayed on the road on Station Lane at the end of Post Office Road. According to this application and the lines drawn the width of Station Lane is going to dramatically reduce in width. As usual no one will give a dam until built and to late to make a fuss.
Looks like the application had also been sent to the town council for comments. That’s lots of Cllrs who appear to have missed a major negative. Please tell us this is wrong. Otherwise when does the campaign begin to stop this?

Mmmmm,town council doesn't know anything about the post office road yellow lines ::)

Acording to their own Agenda they do,
http://www.featherstone-tc.gov.uk/images/agendas-minutes/FC_Agenda_10th_April_13.pdf
Take a look at the 2nd item on page 3.

Please shoot me down if my picture of events is incorrect.
In November 2012 the poor quality re-surfacing of Station Lane and drains filled with tarmac by the same contractors led to WMDC condemning the new surface. Under guarantee for 2 years the surface would be re-laid in February 2013.
It is now the end of May. Have you spotted the repairs yet? Yes repairs not re-surfacing.
It appears that the re-surfacing has been done. Over the last few days 4 separate small areas have been coated again on the top of the old surface without scraping the existing surface. The result is obviously a raised level. The top of the lane looks like someone steered to the path whilst distracted and only stopped when they hit the curb. Road lines have also been covered.
Given the times of the re-surfacing and the small areas you could be forgiven for thinking that someone has been on a job else where and had some tarmac left to patch up Fev.
 If you could think up how to make Station Lane look worse than it is this is a good job.
Whats worrying is WMDC stated the road was under guarantee. Surly it should be like for like? Has there been a payout or deal struck.
 :(

Ironic when a genuine problem/ incorrectness arises there is silence from those who love to comment. You could assume that the Cllrs they communicate with are also silent?
Looks like Station Lane re-surfacing is going to stay a second rate job?
 ::)

Another month and still no word from A Cllr or the messenger?  ::)

Hurray!
Almost 12 months since Station lane re-surfacing was condemned as a fail. Almost two months since a patch up job that looks like the get out was done. At last the yellow lines and road markings arrived last week. Just in time for a possible law on 15 minute parking on yellow lines. You could not make this stuff up if you tried. Looks like the local council have missed this as they were in a coffee morning. ::)