Frustration Over Merton Avenue 'Dangerous Pavements'

Residents say it's unbelievable that work not scheduled until 2021

Residents in Merton Avenue have complained that they are being forced to wait until 2021 for remedial works to be carried out on their pavements.

They say the surface is so broken up it is unsafe for people to walk on, and one resident whose elderly mother in law has just had a hip operation, has threatened to sue Hounslow Council if she slips and falls on the surface.

One resident said that she tripped when the pavement was raised above the curbstone - it was witnessed by the full crew tarmacing the road. She went to A and E and then had to have major surgery on her right hand - a right ulna collateral ligament rupture - plus other minor damage. She could not use her right hand for a number months and received no compensation.

Another elderly resident aged in his early 80s, with Parkinson's, said the walkways were a constant hazard – uneven, cracked, lethal for older people and children.

The locals were told by letter from Hounslow Highways: "Please be advised that the current projected date for any remedial work on the footway is 2021, this will be subject to an inspection of the footway in 2021. Following the inspection, if remedial works are required it may well be that we would work on the worst areas, in sectional treatments, saving monies to spend on other areas in the borough in equal or greater need of treatment. Please also be aware that this date can change depending upon the results of annual surveys between now and 2021."

A number of residents have complained to local councillor John Todd who has urged the council to make an independent assessment of the area. He said the condition of the pavement was "appalling".

He cited a Hounslow Highways assessment which referred to "minimal pedestrian footfall", but this was not mitigation for allowing a poor and dangerous paving condition to remain, he said.

An inspection in October appears to have passed the Hounslow Highways criteria.

"What's urgently needed is an independent review and report, which I believe will provide evidence of the need for an urgent upgrade of the paving", said Cllr Todd.

He has asked Hounslow Council to send a representative to come and inspect Cleveland and Merton Avenues and meet some of the residents, including one of whom suffered serious injuries because of the pavement issues described.

Hounslow Council has now agreed to send a staff member to inspect the area, following the pressure from the councillor and local residents.

November 18, 2018