A near 900-signature petition demanding action on Arbroath potholes has been parked by Angus councillors.
It had been sent to the authority in February, but missed the chance of being considered as part of the budget-setting discussions for the authority’s 2021/22 spending plans.
The petition read: “With the budget up and coming within Angus Council I would like them to set aside enough budget to fix the roads in Arbroath and surrounding areas.
“Why is this important?
“The pothole problem within Angus is costing the people who live there money with unnecessary car repairs that could easily be avoided if the council fixed the problem.”
It was signed by a total of 849 people, ten of them living outside Angus.
At the March budget, administration spending proposals included a one-off million pound allocation for road maintenance and pothole repairs.
However, the pothole petition was not part of those discussions and it came before scrutiny and audit committee councillors on Tuesday.
Range of options
Officials suggested a number of options for the committee including taking no action or deciding appropriate action has already been taken.
They said councillors could request a fuller report on the issue or undertake a detailed review to come up with future recommendations.
Referral to a meeting of the full council for further debate also remained an option.
Councillors agreed, however, that the roads budget and extra spending meant the matter was already being tackled.
Committee convener Alex King said: “Those of us involved in budgeting know that we try to get as much is as possible (to spend) on roads.
“It’s unfortunate that the petition was lodged at a point when it wasn’t able to be discussed at budget time.
“I feel we are left with the option that we determine appropriate action has already been taken or is planned,” he said.
National research released last month revealed nearly a third of UK drivers had suffered pothole damage to their vehicle.
The average repair cost was more than £140, but more than one in ten spent in excess of £250 on repairs.
Fife Council was left with a backlog of complaints after harsh weather at the start of the year.
Perth and Kinross Council also recently came under fire over the state of the road leading to the local cemetery.
One funeral director said the potholes made it a “challenge” to manoeuvre a hearse in a dignified way.