Somerset Council will no longer respond to requests made by residents through the Fix My Street platform where residents report street problems, including potholes, graffiti and fly-tipping.
The authority says it has taken the decision to stop using the app as a way of improving the service, and will direct people to its ‘quick and easy’ web portal instead.
Previously, residents would be able to report street issues through the app, which go to contact centre officers, who then delegate the requests to the appropriate team.
However, now residents are being asked to use the Report It function on the website instead, which ‘removes the need for emails and calls and bypasses the busy contact centre.’
A spokesperson for Somerset Council said, “Fix My Street notifications do not go directly to our highways team, they create unnecessary delay by tying up contact centre officers with emails or phone calls, who then have to manually pass the defect on to the highways team to log in our own system. There is no monetary saving, opting out of Fix My Street simply means precious officer time is refocused on dealing with other vital calls to our contact centre.”
However, at Frome Town Council’s annual meeting on Wednesday 21st May, Cllr Nick Dove said that this now leaves the council in a ‘hole’ due to difficulty in getting hold of paid officers and receiving responses to emails when reporting street problems.
He said, “I have written to Cllr Bill Revans about it [and would like the town council to] write formally to [Somerset] council, as a bare minimum when we are asking for officers who are paid to do the job, to respond to the request, acknowledge and then give us a timescale of when they will respond. It doesn’t seem at all unreasonable to ask that.”
To find a way forward that works for the town council, the new chair of Frome Town Council, Cllr Fiona Barrows, has agreed to contact the leader of Somerset Council, Cllr Bill Revans, about the issue.
Somerset Councillor Shane Collins also asked Cllr Dove to send him the emails so the issue could be raised with the authority.
The Somerset Council spokesperson said, “By using the Report It function, you get a unique reference which you can re-enter into the site to get updates – you do not need to register or provide an email to do this.”
To report any kind of road defect, visit the Somerset Council website www.somerset.gov.uk/report-a-problem-on-the-road/
It can be pinpointed on the map which goes straight to a maintenance operative, and residents are able to upload a picture from their device.
If you need to report an issue with a litter bin you can do this also via the Somerset Council website https://www.somerset.gov.uk/environment-and-food-safety/litter-bins-and-drug-debris/
Pictured: A pothole by the train station
