'Someone will get hurt' - Frustration over pothole near Norwich surgery
Francesca Bolingbroke and her grandfather, district and town councillor for New Costessey, John Amis, with the deep pothole on the footpath at the entrance to the Beechcroft Surgery. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY/Archant2021
People are concerned someone is going to get hurt if a large pothole outside a surgery car park is not repaired.
Francesca Bolingbroke, a patient at Beechcroft Surgery, and New Costessey town and district councillor John Amis have raised concerns about the pothole at the entrance to a car park at the surgery, in Beechcroft Road, New Costessey - which can fit Miss Bolingbroke's size seven shoe in.
Concerns around the pothole near Beechcroft Doctor's surgery in New Costessey. - Credit: Francesca Bollingbroke
Miss Bolingbroke said: "It's just going to keep getting worse.
"Someone's wheelchair is going to catch a wheel on it. If someone who is partially sighted doesn't see it they could miss it.
"If you go over a little bit of a pothole you feel a little bit of a bump. My grandad went to see and we drove over it and we were flung from one side to the other.
"It's just frustrating. It's got to be someone's, someone has to take responsibility."
The road is unadopted which means its upkeep is maintained by the landowner, but determining this has been the centre of the confusion.
The deep pothole on the footpath at the entrance to the Beechcroft Surgery at Costessey. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY/Archant2021
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Norfolk County Council and South Norfolk District Council (SNDC) have not taken on the road so cannot take on maintenance of the highway and indicated different owners.
A county council spokesman said this was likely to be Saffron Housing Association, which owns the nearby Barley Court assisted living houses or SNDC.
A SNDC spokesman said it was understood the road was in the ownership of Cotman Housing and Saffron Housing.
Concerns have been raised for the landowner to repair the pothole to avoid any injuries. - Credit: Francesca Bollingbroke
Saffron Housing's assistant director of strategic management said the piece of land was not its ownership.
Jason MacCormick said: “We take the responsibility of the safety of our tenants and the local community very seriously, we have not been contacted by any of our tenants about the pothole on Beechcroft.
“We would be pleased to work with partners to establish who owns the land where the pothole is situated as we are really keen to see a resolution, so that it is fixed as soon as possible.”
A copy of the land registry says the area is registered in the names of three staff members of the Taverham Surgery, in Sandy Lane - but the partnership denied it is its ownership.
A partnership spokesman said the registered owners are no longer partners or employees and did not comment if it would be fixing the pothole.
A spokesman for the practice said: "Taverham Partnership has no ownership of the Beechcroft premises or any surrounding land."
Francesca Bolingbroke shows how deep the pothole on the footpath at the entrance to the Beechcroft Surgery is in Costessey. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: DENISE BRADLEY/Archant2021
Jeremy Moore, estates manager for the Coastal Villages Partnership, which runs the Beechcroft site, said the ownership was "complex" but the pothole was an ongoing concern.
He added previous concerns had been passed on to landlord Taverham Partnership.
