COUNTY councillor for Mitcheldean Phillip Robinson had a pop at a neighbouring authority over how appalling their roads are during a debate on whether to declare an “emergency” in Gloucestershire.

Conservative councillor Philip Robinson, who is responsible for education, skills and bus transport at Shire Hall, says the condition of the highways in Herefordshire is a “standing joke” among his neighbours.

He says the roads are so bad that driving across the county border from Mitcheldean “you certainly need your shock absorbers”.

Cllr Robinson made the comments while councillors debated a motion to declare an emergency over the dire state of the roads in Gloucestershire on June 28.

The motion, proposed by the Liberal Democrats, was voted down by the council’s Tory majority.

Cllr Robinson told the meeting many people in Mitcheldean have been quick to tell him how pleased they are about the resurfacing of Carisbrook Road and Ross Road.

But he said residents complain of the appalling state of the roads just over the border in Herefordshire.

“It’s a standing joke among my neighbours. The border with Herefordshire is just a few hundred yards from where I live.

“Driving along the Gloucestershire road which then crosses the county border is not something you easily forget. You certainly need your shock absorbers.”

He said the roads are so bad in Herefordshire because the Tories lost control of the authority in 2019 to an Independent and Green alliance and the residents have paid the price ever since.

“One of the first things the administration did was cut back on the highway budget.

“In fact, it’s reassuring that the voters of Herefordshire have realised what they lost four years ago and have returned the Conservatives as the largest party.”

He said he very much expects the neighbouring county’s roads to start improving thanks to the new Conservative -led cabinet there.

Labour councillor Graham Morgan (L, Cinderford) said Cllr Robinson’s comments were nonsense.

“I do travel into Herefordshire and Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire’s roads are no different – none of it. Not a bit different. So it’s nonsense.”

Herefordshire Council’s former transport and infrastructure chief John Harrington, who lost his seat in the last elections, said Cllr Robinson “wants to get a bit more educated before he opens his mouth”.

Gloucestershire Lib Dems say Conservative leaders are “in total denial” over the state of the county’s roads.

Councillor Paul Hodgkinson (LD, Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach), who put forward a ‘roads emergency’ motion, said potholes were one of the main issues raised on the doorstep during the latest council elections.

“We’ve got roads full of potholes, rivers full of excrement and a Government full of excuses,” he told the Shire Hall meeting on June 28.

Cllr Hodgkinson explained the county’s roads were “already in a fragile state before this last winter”.

And the incessant rain and hard frost has hammered the highways and the county’s roads are an embarrassment.

“I’m saddened by the sense of total denial about the crisis out there. What we are being told is it’s all fine, it’s absolutely fine but behind that rhetoric the reality is it absolutely isn’t.

“We’ve said clearly this is a crisis that needs to be acknowledged.”

Highways cabinet member Dom Morris (C, Fairford and Lechlade on Thames) defended the actions being taken by the council to fix the issue and gave details of everything that is being done to improve the county’s roads.

He also asked what the Lib Dems would have done if they had won the elections in 2021 as the authority was “minus £100 million”.

“You are not going to get ‘find a fix’ teams, you’re not going to get the resurfacing of the Fosse way. You’re not going to get innovation and trials with cold or ‘splat and pat’. You are not going to be able to try jet patchers.

“I am here to transform highways. My predecessor set the conditions with £100m.

The county council is introducing “find and fix gangs” to repair potholes earlier, spray injection patching which can fill up to 100 potholes in a day, and trialling innovative new materials to speed up repairs and help them last longer in bad weather.

Highways teams have filled more than 10,000 potholes since April and this summer there are plans to resurface more roads than ever before – 170 in total for this year.