Liberal Democrats have criticised Bury Council’s under-investment in road repairs after a local councillor discovered a two-metre deep crater on a Prestwich street.

Cllr Donal O’Hanlon, Liberal Democrat member for St Mary’s ward, discovered the hole on Lowther Road, and launched a stinging attack on road maintenance in the borough. “We can’t go on like this – the condition of our roads is appalling, and the amount we are allocated to repair them is paltry!” said Cllr. O’Hanlon.

“Bury Council announced it’s annual budget recently, but the amount given over to road repairs was so low that we can’t even afford to fix the single neediest road. Local Area Partnerships decide how much of the meagre money allocated can be spent on the upgrading of the roads and pavements, but there is nowhere near enough.”

Cllr O’Hanlon described the moment he almost became a victim of the crumbling road himself. “I came round the corner and swerved around a dip in the road. I got out to investigate, and found a crater two metres deep. The damage to someone’s car if it’d fallen in, let alone the shock to the person, would far outweigh the cost of keeping the road in a decent condition!”

Prestwich Area Partnership has been allocated less than £200,000 by Bury’s Conservative-controlled Council to repair all the roads and pavements in the town. ”What we need is a real investment in our roads – the proverb ‘A stitch in time saves nine’ springs to mind. Is this what we get for our massive 4.9% Council Tax rise?” asked Cllr O’Hanlon. “I call on the Executive Member of the Council responsible for roads, Cllr. Dorothy Gunther, to come and see the appalling mess she is currently presiding over, and ask for her commitment to rectify matters immediately.”

Local Lib Dem Councillors have praised clean-up staff following recent Oasis concerts in Heaton Park, but voiced concerns that not enough was done to protect local people during the recent events.

The concerts, which saw 210,000 people enjoy music in the park over three nights, generated controversy over noise, but passed largely without major trouble.

Commenting on the concerts, Cllr Vic D’Albert, Liberal Democrat member for Holyrood and Parliamentary candidate for Bury South said “What’s clear is that over 200,000 people came to Prestwich and had a great time. But there were lots of problems for the people that live here, and we need to get the balance right. Before Manchester City Council think about having more concerts here, they need to think about Prestwich residents.”

Residents complained about excessive noise, particularly on the first night when a power failure caused a delay to the end of the concert.

Cllr D’Albert said “Of course there was going to be noise, but I think continuing until 11.25 was too late, and I will be demanding that this never happens again. I want to know why the stage was set up facing the houses of Prestwich rather than the open space of the park, and why revellers weren’t moved on quicker at the end. This was particularly unpleasant for older residents and people with young children.”

Parking arrangements were only partially successful. Cllr D’Albert said “We were given assurances that public transport would work and parking wouldn’t be a problem. Whilst streets in St Margaret’s and Sheepfoot Lane were well protected, those in Sedgley and Rhodes were not, and this wasn’t good enough. Buses and taxis were dropping off people in the wrong place, and queues for trams were very long. We need improvements to help residents.”

Cllr D’Albert did praise some aspects of the organisation. “I thought the street cleaning service was excellent, and lots of local people enjoyed a concert, either as paying spectators or for free in their gardens. A lot of local people enjoyed themselves, and local businesses received a welcome boost in trade. The gigs have raised the profile of Prestwich, and that’s great. In addition, some of the profits will be spent improving local parks, so people will see long term benefits as a result of short term disruption.”

“Prestwich Local Area Partnership will receive a report into all aspects of the concerts, and make this available to local people so that we can represent their views. I look forward to working with everyone – local people, and Bury and Manchester Councils – to make sure that if these things are to happen again, we in Bury make Manchester City Council learn from what happened. There’s certainly room for improvement, but perhaps not for 200,000 people across three nights in quick succession. We need to deal with the noise better, reduce the numbers and restrict activity to sensible times and durations. We need to strike a balance between Prestwich people and money for Manchester.”