MORE than £20,000 was spent fixing this stretch of Cardiff road less than three years ago – and now there are calls for it to be done again.
It is the third time in just over 10 years that works has been needed on the busy road at a time when Cardiff Council admits that the number of potholes appearing on the road network are significantly higher than previous years.
In 2013, Cardiff Council carried out resurfacing work on Station Road, Llandaff North at a cost of £20,458.
Localised surfacing work took place on the road in 2021, costing £18,575.
More recently, resurfacing work took place on parts of Station Road in 2023 as part of a localised improvement works programme, costing the council £21,400.
However, after a harsh winter the potholes have begun to open back up again, much to the dismay of local businesses.
A spokesperson for Cardiff Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “There is no doubt that it has been a very difficult winter for council staff fixing Cardiff’s highway network.”
They continued: “Due to the significant amount of rain and sub-zero temperatures, the number of potholes appearing on the road network is significantly higher than previous years.
“This isn’t helped by third parties carrying out work on the highway, although the work may be deemed as essential, it can unfortunately create a weakness in the road surface, which can allow water to enter the structure of the road.”
Saul Johnstone, 35, of Cafe Artiste told the LDRS: “I think we’ve definitely noticed an increase over the winter, which I suppose is fairly typical, given the bad weather.”
He continued: “I’ve never really had cause to bring it up in conversation before, but I think more recently, people are coming in [Cafe Artiste] and mentioning them.
“It is a bit of a feature of conversations in here.”
As the roads opened up recently, he hopes that the council will get around to addressing them in “the next few weeks”.
George Deane, 26, of Party Central Cardiff said: “I would love if the council could do a little bit more about our road situation.”
He continued: “I understand it’s not an easy task, but it is a major issue in our area and the surrounding areas of Cardiff.”
When asked if he was aware of the resurfacing done three years ago, Mr Deane said that he was but said the council had done a “terrible job”.
He added that the road conditions had become “100 per cent gotten worse” in recent months.
A similar sentiment was shared by Samantha Johnstone, 40, of Salon Artiste who said that since the partial resurfacing in 2023, the potholes have “got worse now”.
She added that the council “need to get someone out” to Station Road due to the “wear and tear” the potholes were causing on people’s cars.
John Cruise, 72, of Hapus Wales said: “Everything is opening back up now, so any repairs they do, which tend to be temporary, [the roads] just open back up again.”
A spokesperson for the council said: “The council uses the resources available to best effect by carrying out a variety of road works across the highway network including reconstruction, re-surfacing, surface patching and treatments as well as temporary make-safe repairs to potholes.
“Recently the Welsh Government has awarded Cardiff an additional £10m to re-surface roads which the Council will be spending over the next two years.
“Potholes may be repaired temporarily to make the locality safe until a long-term solution can be provided – which requires more extensive patching or resurfacing of the road.”
The spokesperson added: “In the UK, there is a national backlog of road repairs greater than £12bn. The council inspects the highway network in line with all legislation – The Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management and the requirements of the Highways Act 1980.”
