'Atrocious' road in Northampton town centre slammed as 'worst for potholes' - and there are no plans in sight to fix it

An ‘atrocious’ road in Northampton town centre has been called the ‘worst’ in town for potholes – and the council has revealed there is no specific date yet to fix it.

The road surface in Derngate has been slammed as ‘atrocious’ due to it being full of potholes and questionable patchy repairs.

A 58-year-old motorist, from East Hunsbury, said: “It’s atrocious. It’s a main road in and out of town. People use that road to visit the theatre and it’s even near the council’s offices. It’s councillor Phil Larratt again. The buck stops with him. The council is not fit for purpose."

Another added: “It has to be the worst road in town.”

This newspaper asked WNC if it was aware of the state of the road, which is just a stone’s throw away from their headquarters, and if there are any plans on fixing it soon.

A WNC spokesman said: “Like all councils we face a challenge with roads deteriorating in the cold and wet winter weather and requiring urgent action. We understand people’s frustration with the current condition of the roads and we are prioritising completing the most essential work first as well as having a full plan of maintenance for the year and as the weather improves.

“The surfacing works on Derngate were originally scheduled in 2023, however they were postponed due to the unforeseen road closure of Bridge Street. This decision was made to minimise inconvenience and impact on the wider road network.

“Once Bridge Street is fully operational and open, the much-needed and already identified works can be scheduled in.”

However, there is no fixed date for Bridge Street to reopen, so Derngate could be in its current state for a little while.

Bridge Street has been partially closed since August 23 following a massive fire at the former Fat Cats Cafe and Balloon Bar building.

On Friday (April 12), this newspaper contacted WNC asking for an update regarding when the road will reopen. We are still awaiting a response.

The total amount of money spent on highways in the county since WNC’s creation is in excess of £60m, however the backlog of repairs continues to rise and sits at over £200m.

WNC recently published their plans to improve local roads over the next few years as the first tranche of funding from the scrapped HS2 project has been revealed.

Some roads have already been resurfaced as part of the HS2-funded Network North project to make journeys safer, faster and smoother.

The council has already been paid £1.357m by the Department for Transport (DfT) and is set to receive another £1.357m instalment in this financial year to get on with the work and deliver improvements.