Community Faces £73,000 Charge for Essential Road Maintenance

Local residents have been informed by a council that they are expected to fund repairs exceeding £70,000 for potholes on the only access route serving their homes and garages. Whitebarns Lane, located in Furneux Pelham, Hertfordshire, connects a primary road to a cul-de-sac inhabited by numerous social housing residents. Resident Sarah Wright stated that community members were advised the cost to repair the lane, which has been the site of injuries for elderly individuals and schoolchildren due to falls, would be £73,000. Hertfordshire County Council acknowledged and expressed sympathy for the residents’ frustration, but clarified that Whitebarns Lane has consistently been, and continues to be, classified as a public footpath, not a road. Mrs. Wright pointed out that Whitebarns Lane has never been formally adopted by the council, despite serving as the exclusive access route for approximately 30 residences. An adopted road is defined as a private thoroughfare that a local authority has assumed responsibility for, subsequently maintaining it at public cost. She described the situation as unique within Hertfordshire, noting that while the cul-de-sac and the main road had been adopted, the connecting lane had not. In 2016, the council informed residents that upgrading the lane to an adoptable standard would incur a £73,000 expense for them. Mrs. Wright reported that some residents found this prospect “frightening,” with several expressing distress at her home, citing their inability to raise the required funds. She stated, “It is a money issue… if the council adopt it, they have to provide pathways and drainage and lighting, which I appreciate is expensive, but we do need fit-for-purpose access to the main highway.” She emphasized that elderly residents require safe pedestrian access to the church, village hall, local shop, and bus stop. Mrs. Wright asserted that the lane would continue to be severely potholed until the council acknowledged its “moral responsibility.” The condition of the lane has been a persistent concern for the past six decades, with Mrs. Wright noting that approximately every 20 years, residents have had to campaign against the council “for a service they should have always automatically had.” A petition advocating for the lane to be made suitable for its intended use has garnered nearly 300 signatures. The council stated: “It would potentially be possible to adopt Whitebarns Lane as a public road, but only if the landowner, or the residents living along the lane, were able to bring it up to an acceptable standard.” It added, “We have offered to contribute towards the cost of the necessary works.“ The council concluded, “In the meantime, we will continue to maintain Whitebarns Lane as a public footpath.”