PEOPLE have been complaining about a Wirral road littered with potholes nearly every day for more than a year.

Connecting Woolaston to Eastham, Eastham Rake serves several housing estates in the south of the borough of Wirral but in a section near the town’s train station, more than 20 potholes can be found with large parts of the road surface becoming detached in another part. Last year, people living on the road told the LDRS repairs hadn’t improved things.

During this summer, 450 roads, pavements and bridges are set for repairs. In March, the council said it was looking at the best solution for the road, potentially removing some of the road and resurfacing it.

Eastham councillor Phil Gilchrist said people complained about the road every day and the condition of the road was deteriorating, adding: “I have been banging on about it since last summer.”

He said: “Past efforts to repair it just haven’t proved to be successful so we must go back to the drawing board,” adding: “It’s a job that is capable of being done. It’s not simple but we have got to sort it.”

He said: “If you went down it on a bicycle like I do, you’re bouncing all over the place. Drivers even complain because of the impact on their suspension,” adding: “Residents would welcome any sign of road works.”

According to new Office for Local Government (OFLOG) data, smaller roads in Wirral are twice as bad compared to the England average. OFLOG was set up with the aim to “make local government even better.”

The data said 8% of Wirral’s B and C roads should be considered for maintenance, compared to 4.5% for similar local authorities and the English average of 4%. For A roads, the difference is less with only 4% of these roads needing maintenance compared to 3% for similar councils and the England average.

However, despite his calls for action to improve the state of the road, Cllr Gilchrist, said: “All council budgets are under pressure because of the difficulties in meeting the needs of the elderly residents and children that require places of care and safety so the council spends six of every ten pounds on the things it is required to do by law so any other service is always under pressure.

“The jam is spread rather thin and it’s important to keep the standards of maintenance up before it deteriorates further. It’s a Wirral wide problem.

“People have for years expected the council to do a number of things and in the current financial climate, it’s no longer possible to keep doing everything as it has been done over the years. I compare it to spinning plates. You try to keep it spinning but at some point it’s impossible to keep all those plates spinning.

“People expect us to get the basics right and we certainly do push for that. These are things people look at every day like the potholes they drive over. Those are the things that they want us to get on with as best we can.”

A spokesperson for Wirral Council said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns about the condition of Eastham Rake. Safety repairs have been made when necessary, but we can confirm, a programme of scheduled surfacing works will take place over the summer months, so residents will see improvements once that is completed.”