HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition complaining about the state of potholes in Newton Abbot and calling for them to be repaired.

Cllr Phil Bullivant, the man who set up the petition, has handed it in to Devon County Council.

Cllr Bullivant, Councillor for Bradley and Newton Abbot North, said: ‘I would like to thank the hundreds of people who signed our petition to draw attention to the need for action to repair the potholes in Newton Abbot.’

The Council Cabinet member for Highway Management, Stuart Hughes, on behalf of the council, is pictured receiving the 70-page petition from local Councillor Phil Bullivant.

‘The petition highlighted the state of the roads and asked that the additional funds arranged by local MP Anne Marie Morris for pothole repairs was urgently used to address our local problems,’ said Cllr Bullivant.

When he launched the petition Cllr Bullivant said he was looking to pressure Devon County Council to fix the town’s pothole problem.

He has been collecting signatures and photographic evidence to highlight the issue and put Newton Abbot at the front of the queue for highway maintenance funding.

Earlier this year, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt allocated an additional £500 million for fixing the UK’s potholes, quoting ‘strong representations’ from several MPs, one of which being Anne-Marie Morris. Councillor Bullivant wants to see more of this funding funnelled into Newton Abbot.

While some potholes in the town have been fixed, Councillor Bullivant does not see this as good enough.

He said: ‘I am concerned that the volume of demands placed on Devon County Council will mean that some of the much-needed repairs outstanding for Newton Abbot will be relegated behind others and as we aspire for Newton Abbot to be the leading market town within Teignbridge.’

He added: ‘Being a local resident, I see the problems that potholes cause. Anne-Marie has worked very hard to secure those additional funds. Because of the work of the Newton Abbot MP, money was given to Devon County Council.

‘I want to make sure that when Devon County Council are allocating that cash, they look at Newton Abbot as a premium market town and allocate money as such.’

l Tell us what you think about the state of the roads around Newton Abbot and the rest of Teignbridge – email our newsdesk at [email protected]