Claim Redcar and Cleveland has ‘best roads in country’

A Facebook post by Councillor Carl Quartermain pictured a newly resurfaced road and read: “Best roads in the country now according to the Department of Transport.”

The post was followed by a thumbs up emoji.

Cllr Quartermain, the cabinet member for highways and transport, then doubled down on it at a recent meeting of the full council describing the “notable achievement”.

This led some councillors to question the claim and give examples of poor quality roads in their areas, including veteran councillor Steve Kay, who represents the rural Lockwood ward.

Cllr Quartermain told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the statement was based on pothole data compiled by the DfT and he stood by it.

The LDRS contacted the DfT, but it merely directed a reporter back to Cllr Quartermain in a bid to establish where the information had come from.

At the meeting Brotton ward councillor Barry Hunt bemoaned the poor state of roads in and out of the coastal village of Skinningrove, traffic having recently been diverted through it as a result of a burst pipe which closed the A174 at Mill Bank, Carlin How, something described by Cllr Hunt as a “fiasco”.

This included narrow back lanes used by some locals.

Cllr Hunt described two recent accidents and said: “The condition of these roads is a concern, god knows how many engineers we have had down there, it is dangerous at the best of the times.”

He added: “The plaster has come off, the boil has burst and there is only you [the council] can fix it, the people of Skinningrove, Carlin How, Loftus deserve more.”

Cllr Quartermain acknowledged “safety critical issues” and also said processes needed to be updated in order for there to be better coordination between the highways department and utilities, resulting in improved communications with the public.

Introducing an annual report covering his portfolio, he cited a positive from long-term funding that had been made available to the council up to 2026/27 which enabled better planning and investment.

Cllr Quartermain said as a result more emphasis had been put on “data-driven asset management”  which prioritised road maintenance where it was needed most using various metrics.

He said a six-year resurfacing programme in the borough was taking place, covering 110,000 square metres of road and 1,420 sq m of footpaths.

Cllr Quartermain said: “This type of planning ensures we have long-term structural integrity and is one of the key reasons the roads in Redcar and Cleveland have been recognised as being the best in the country by the Department of Transport.”

He added: “Road safety is our top priority and as such we have strengthened risk management by adding an extra highways inspector to monitor the network, ensuring we meet our statutory responsibilities.”

In a separate blog post Cllr Quartermain acknowledged flood-related damage to Skinningrove Bank, also known locally as Bothroyd’s Bank, which led to it being closed to the public.

He described it as an uncategorised road which was not constructed to an adequate standard.

Cllr Quartermain said the gradient and a three tonne weight restriction meant it was difficult to access the site, but it was hoped to begin reconstruction of the carriageway next week as drainage investigations had been completed.

The cabinet member’s report quoted performance scores which said 98 per cent of the principal road network in Redcar and Cleveland was available at any given time; 93 per cent of pothole reports were responded to within five days and 100 per cent of culverts were maintained to schedule.

Less than one per cent of A roads needed intervention due to the condition of the carriageway, less than four per cent when it came to B and C roads and less than nine per cent in terms of unclassified roads.

The scores were said to place the council in the top five in the country when it came to carriageway condition.