Residents of an Aberdeenshire village plagued by potholes have raised concerns about smaller communities being overlooked by the council’s roads service.
The village of Fordoun in the Mearns might not be the region’s biggest settlement, but it is a tightly-knit community and busy with traffic going to and from areas like Auchenblae.
However, its roads are currently in a sorry state of repair.
When we asked our readers to send us where they think the worst potholes in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire are ahead of May’s council elections, Fordoun resident Alex Wasinowicz got in touch to invite the Press and Journal to see for ourselves how bad the problem is in the village.
We found extensive road defects along Station Road, Redhall Place, and Toch-Hill road.
And at the bottom of the road just off the dual carriageway that takes you over the railway and into Fordoun, we saw multiple motorists being forced onto the wrong side of the road to avoid a particularly bad patch of potholes.
Some were so deep they were full of water.
Fears that Fordoun is ‘forgotten about’
Alex, who is a teacher, said he is worried about the potential safety issues that Fordoun’s potholes pose to the village’s children.
He said: “I have neighbours who have told me their worries about potholes, especially when it comes to children cycling on their bikes in the holidays.
“The solution is to get them mended as quickly as possible before somebody is seriously hurt, or further damage is done to cars.
“I feel as though we are being a bit forgotten about.
“However, I do have all the confidence that Aberdeenshire Council will carry out the work necessary to safeguard the safety of the public.
“And although they of course can’t deal with all the remote villages, I’m sure Fordoun is in their hearts and minds.”
Driver says he has replaced two tyres as a result of Fordoun potholes
William Taylor, Alex’s neighbour said: “Being a motorist who works and lives in the Mearns area, I feel let down.
“We have to put our vehicles through yearly safety checks to ensure they’re roadworthy, so why can’t the roads be worthy of our vehicles?
“I’ve had to replace two tyres and a shock absorber just to get my vehicle through its MOT, and I think that was caused by the potholes in Fordoun.
“Smaller communities like Fordoun, Auchenblae and Laurencekirk, it’s like we’re kind of a backwater compared to other areas like Stonehaven.”
But pothole hell could soon be coming to an end
After we put the resident’s concerns to Aberdeenshire Council, a spokesman for the local authority told us that the Fordoun community could soon be seeing work done on its roads.
He said: “We can confirm that we are scheduling road repairs at Fordoun, and expect works to take place later this month or early May.
“Details of the associated traffic restrictions will be shared shortly.”
