Brentwood High Street's cobbles 'must be repaired'

Brentwood Liberal Democrats, who are in charge of the local borough council, have said that the high street, which was cobbled in 2009, now needs a “significant reconstruction” to fix it.

The Lib Dems are calling for a fully committed action plan from the Conservative-run Essex County Council.

They said: “In July, Essex County Council confirmed they were aware of complaints, which would require a significant reconstruction scheme to fix, but no date was provided for when any designs might come forward.

“In the meantime, limited repairs to broken paving stones were undertaken last year, and occasional repairs to the cobbles have been made using tarmac.

"However, the need to fully repair the roads remains.”

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The criticism comes after the administration announced last summer that it was working to develop and launch a multi-agency task force on the town’s high street, including on its repair and countering antisocial behaviour.

At the time, council leader Councillor Barry Aspinell said: “The pavements are all over the place. Nothing is safe or steady, but the road itself is appalling.”

He said that while limited repairs to broken paving stones were undertaken at his request in 2023, the need to fully repair the roads remains.

The Lib Dems have said that a broken water main in 2023 caused a large crater to appear at the busy Wilson’s Corner junction, further demonstrating ongoing road quality issues.

In 2023, Brentwood’s high street was also described as a “deathtrap for the visually impaired”.

The council said Brentwood Access Group, which campaigns to improve access for people with disabilities, has consistently raised concerns over the state of the high street and its impact on local residents.

The high street improvement scheme was completed in November 2009, at a cost of £11 million, following months of roadworks to repave pavements and cobble sections of the main road.

A motion in 2023 proposed by Councillor Dr Tim Barrett, Labour group leader of the Brentwood Joint Administration Group, said the street has seen areas crumble to an “unacceptable” state of disrepair.

Essex County Council has been contacted for comment.