Former councillor hits out at condition of ‘worst road’ in Welsh county

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

A former community councillor says a Welsh road has the ‘worst potholes’ in the county.

Rob Challinor – formerly a member of Gwernaffield and Pantymwyn Community Council – said his wife suffered a puncture driving into Mold last week.

Driving in the evening to celebrate her birthday in the town with Rob as a passenger, she struck a large pothole on Gwernaffield Road that was 60 inches long, 20 inches wide and over three inches deep.

“It’s a Mini Cooper S, low‑profile tyres,” said Rob. “It was dusk, dark, so you can’t actually see that section of the road surface in detail.

“She was doing no more than 20mph, hit the pothole and instant blow‑out. We had to drive it very carefully to Harley’s garage in Mold.

“I was absolutely fuming about it, because the roads in Mold shouldn’t be like that, should they? Not a main road from Gwernaffield to Mold, should it? It shouldn’t be.

“I think it is the worst road in Flintshire. It must have the worst potholes. They are so large and deep and there are so many of them across the carriageway you can’t avoid them.

“You can expect one or two potholes but that whole stretch is littered with them. It could have killed us if we’d been going any quicker.

“Flintshire County Council should be doing more to maintain the roads. I know that the funding’s tight but this is a matter of safety.”

Gwernaffield Road is not currently on the published schedule of highway maintenance projects on the Flintshire County Council website.

Cllr David Coggins Cogan, who represents Gwernaffield on Flintshire County Council, said that no road in Flintshire should ever have degenerated into such a state – blaming long-term underfinding of the local authority for the growing pothole problem.

“The poor state of Gwernaffield Road did not happen overnight.,” he said. “Streetscene has been cut far more deeply than it ever should have been, and this is the inevitable consequence.

“Every resident in Flintshire relies on roads and bin collections, yet those very services are structurally underfunded because Flintshire is one of the lowest-funded councils in Wales.

“Gwernaffield Road is far from unique.  Many other roads across my largely rural ward are in a similarly parlous condition and need urgent attention, alongside longer-term solutions such as improved drainage to prevent repeated deterioration.”

Flintshire County Council was approached for comment.