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Highways promises to repair Montpellier potholes in 28 days

Potholes on a busy road near Cheltenham town centre will be fixed by the end of this month, Highways chiefs have promised. Drivers have complained about the surface of Parabola Road in Montpellier between the junctions of Lansdown Road and the mini roundabout on the corner of Bayshill Road.

The stretch of road, which runs outside The Ballroom restaurant and Montpellier Wine Bar, is riddled with potholes. Gloucestershire Highways, which is responsible for repairing damaged roads, said the potholes will be fixed within 28 days.

However, as the damage to the surface is not considered to pose a danger to drivers, the repairs are not a top priority, a spokesman said. Anna Brent, a motorist who regularly drives that route, described it as “like an assault course for cars”. The 30-year-old from Benhall said: “The road surface there is really bad. On most roads you can swerve to avoid the potholes but on that section of road you have no chance because they’re everywhere.

“Every time I go over it I’m praying I don’t get a flat tyre. It’s like an assault course for cars.” She added: “I’m glad the road is going to be repaired because it’s pretty bad and has been for some time.” Alan Fenton, 55, was equally critical of the road surface and pleased repairs are planned. “That part of the road can’t be good for my car’s suspension or tyres, so I’m glad they are sorting it out.

“I see a lot of heavy lorries and vans on that part of the road so that may have played a part in the damage, as well as the bad winter we had.” Chris Riley, highways manager at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “The well-used roads in the county are inspected at least every month and our priority is to fix unsafe potholes as soon as we can.

“Parabola Road in Cheltenham isn’t deemed as a main route and therefore is not our highest priority and will be repaired within 28 days, if it meets national safety requirements, which is in line with the national guidelines. “Highways teams are busy identifying and fixing hundreds of potholes each day and in the last 12 months we’ve fixed nearly 50,000 in Gloucestershire.

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