ROAD repairs are likely to be ongoing until May to fix the damage done by the cold weather, Belford Parish Council have been told.
The head of Northumberland County Council's northern area highways department, Richard Hayes, discussed various traffic issues with parish councillors in Belford last week.
Among the items discussed were proposals to move 30mph speed limit signs f
urther out of the village, the recent winter weather, and damage caused by heavy traffic through the village when the A1 was shut for repairs.
Commenting on the damage caused to the roads in the area following the bad weather, Mr Hayes said: "The roads have taken some stick and really are in a desperate condition.
"We are still in a period of cold weather which will deteriorate the roads further. The underlying cause of the potholes is still there.
"We are trying to tackle the higher use roads first and work our way down, and we ask for patience," he added.
Mr Hayes appealed for people to contact the council if they spotted potholes that posed a danger, but warned that although the council had a duty to repair these quickly, the repair would only be a short term measure and would divert staff and equipment away from jobs where they would be carrying out long term repairs to damaged road surfaces.
He added: "Every pothole has to be looked at individually and looked at to see if it is dangerous and we are trying our best.
"We have had a significant amount of insurance claims, and some people have accidents, which is very unfortunate."
Mr Hayes said that the end of April or early May was a reasonable estimate for the work to be completed.
He said: "The ground is very, very wet still and with these temperatures and snow forecast the damage being done by the weather is significant, so it is not going to be an easy ride for anyone."
In terms of issues of speeding in the village, Mr Hayes said that moving the speed limit signs was not just a matter of physically shifting them, but required a new traffic restriction order, which could take anything up to nine months to be implemented.
However, he said that plans to extend the 30mph limit further out of the village were on a list of items to be considered in the 2010/11 programme of works. He added that speed surveys were shortly to take place in the village to see if traffic calming measures were also required.
However, Mr Hayes explained to the parish council that digital signs showing the actual speed of vehicles were not permitted by the county council, but said that flashing 30mph signs warning drivers of their speed would be appropriate, especially if moved round the village to keep drivers on their toes.
PC Zoe George, neighbourhood beat manager for the Belford area, said that she and colleagues had been carrying out speed checks in Seahouses and Wooler in recent weeks, but had little success, only issuing three or four tickets to speeders, mainly because drivers warned each other of the presence of the police.
She added that in the past five years there had only been one accident recorded in the High Street, Belford.
Mr Hayes also confirmed that the county council was looking into the possibility of using speed calming measures near the school, on West Street, which could also provide a run-off for flood water during periods of heavy rainfall.
This issue has been pursued by Coun Geoff O'Connell, who has also worked closely with Northumbrian Water and the Environment Agency on flood prevention matters in the village.
Coun Chris Rosby, who recently carried out a survey of damage in the High Street following the diversion through the town, also handed over his findings to Mr Hayes.
