RESIDENTS of a badly potholed road have been left baffled by a council decision to repair what they say are four ‘perfect’ roads nearby.

People living in Raymund Road, Old Marston, Oxford, and parents of pupils at a nearby school claim they have been asking the authorities for years to have their road surface properly repaired.

But according to resident Tony Greenfield, four roads just over a mile away with no apparent surface problems are being resurfaced in a move costing thousands of pounds.

Mr Greenfield said Acland Close, Demesne Furze, Mileway Gardens and Skene Close, in Headington, were getting the treatment despite being ‘99 per cent perfect.’ He added: “I have been battling for years to get them to sort it out.

“They come, put a bit of asphalt down and then, as soon a car goes over it or it rains, it gets damaged again.

“There is a school at the end of the road and there are plans to extend it, so things will get worse.

“All four of the roads they are working on have 99 per cent perfect road surfaces, yet thousands of pounds are going to be spent there over the next two days.

“I just don’t understand why they’re doing the work, it seems completely unnecessary and a disgraceful waste of money.”

Hannah Lawful, governor of St Nicholas’ Primary School in Raymund Road and secretary of the parent teacher association, said the road was a danger.

She added: “If a car goes over a pothole it causes damage, but not as much damage as it would do to a child going over one on a bicycle.”

The responsibility for maintaining Oxford’s roads is shared between the city and county councils.

City councillor Colin Cook said the city council produced a list of roads which needed work and graded them in order of priority, with one being the highest priority and those graded at five the lowest.

He said Acland Close, Demesne Furze, Mileway Gardens and Skene Close were all listed as priority one, with the total amount of all the neccessary work for them coming in at just over £12,500.

But Harry Sanders, who lives in Demesne Furze, said it was in a perfectly good condition.

He said: “This is engineering incompetence. These roads don’t need touching, anyone with any common sense can see there’s nothing wrong with them.”

Raymund Road is listed as priority two, although to carry out all the necessary work would cost more than £46,100.

Mr Cook added: “Each year this list comes in at about £25m and we get about 10 per cent of that.

“We only ever get enough money to carry out the work to the highest priority roads.

“We do have our own pot of money which we can use for potholes off our own bat, but that sort of money runs out very quickly.”

Do you know where some of the city’s worst potholes are? Call Amanda Williams on 01865 425426.