A COUNCILLOR has quipped that some potholes in Wellington are getting so deep that well-known TV adventurer and survival expert Bear Grylls could “abseil down them.”

Cllr John Thorne’s tongue-in-cheek remark might be a somewhat extreme exaggeration of the pothole problem in Wellington, but it certainly emphasised the worrying concerns about the ever-increasing decline in road surfaces in the town.

Councillors were discussing the situation during a meeting of Wellington Town Council’s economic development committee meeting held on April 16.

It came up while they heard that Somerset Council had said it would look at refreshing the white lines for the parking bays in the High Street outside the former Post Office.

Traffic engineer Kate Brown said that resurfacing work was planned for North Street and she would have a site meeting to look at the parking bays in High Street.

Councillors said that they should take the opportunity of pointing out to Somerset Council other roads in Wellington and Rockwell Green which are in desperate need of attention and littered with potholes.

Cllr Thorne said: “I see that Kate Brown has mentioned North Street, but no mention of other areas or Rockwell Green. The road surfaces are appalling and some of the potholes are so deep Bear Grylls could abseil down them.”

Town councillors had previously said that the town council should carry out the white lining works for the parking bays in High Street and then send Somerset Council a bill for the work.

But they have now been informed that the work could be carried out by Somerset Council by the end of the summer.

Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “We’ve got them (Somerset Council) to look at the parking bays, but if we get them to look at other places we might lose things in the mix. Let’s just focus on the job we’ve got them to look at.”

But Cllr Keith Wheatley said: “We do need to point out to them that roads are deteriorating fast. South Street between the traffic lights and the school roundabout, for example, the road is disintegrating before our eyes – it’s terrible.

“Highways are spending £5m on making improvements on the link road at Chelston to the M5 which hasn’t got any potholes at all, yet here in Wellington there are potholes everywhere you look.”

The committee recommended that it should give Somerset Council until September 1 to complete the bay markings outside the old Post Office in High Street before seeking quotes to undertake the work itself.

Cllr Thorne said: “Somerset Council has said it’s going to do the work, but can’t give a timescale other than the end of the summer.

“In those circumstances we should wait until September 1 to see if they do the work before we look at spending any of our council taxpayers money on this.”

Councillors had previously said they were concerned about the parking chaos outside the former Post Office where white line markings for parking bays had faded so badly they were virtually invisible.