A number of residents have asked me why the brand new pavement surface in Rumbridge Street, Totton is already beginning to look like a patchwork quilt. In several places, it has been dug up. Unlike the surrounding high quality yellow coloured surface, the repaired patches are just black asphalt.

My enquiries with Hampshire County Council have revealed that the culprits are Southern Water. They have an obligation under the New Roads and Streetworks Act to replace the surfacing on a like-for-like basis. Under the legislation and Code of Practice they do have a period of six months to complete the work.

I’m not able to monitor every repair and the timescales involved but am pretty sure that some of the patches exceed the 6 month period. I have pressed the council street-works inspector to press Southern Water to finish the job properly. In the meantime, why can’t Southern Water do the job properly first time around? Surely it would save money? I have written to the company asking why!