Northumberland County Council pothole scheme praised.
Northumberland County Council’s technological solution to tackle potholes and other issues has been singled out for praise five months after its introduction.
FixMyStreet was launched in May, and allows residents to photograph, locate and highligh issues using their phone. The public can report issues such as faulty streetlights, abandoned vehicles and flytipping by going to nland.cc/fix on a mobile phone, computer, tablet or by using the council’s website.
The reports are then assessed by officers and allocated for action. The system is aimed at improving communication with residents, helping to reduce duplicate reports on the same issue and even speed up responses by giving staff a precise location of where the problem is.
Speaking at Wednesday’s meeting of the council’s Communities and Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Coun John Riddle said the tech had made the council’s workforce more efficient and effective.
The cabinet member for highways said: “It’s almost five months since the soft launch of tghe system and it has been a resounding success. There were some minor teething issues but I think it’s a great improvement and something that the public have werlcomed.
“They’re using it and we know that from the figures. It’s streamlining our systems, it’s making the workforce more efficient.
“The main benefit is when somebody reports an issue, they’re getting timely updates as to when something is happening. I’m very pleased with the way things are going.”
Members were told that there had been over 20,000 reports via the system since it was launched, with 17,000 of those receiving a response.
Coun Mark Mather, who represents the Wooler ward, also praised the system.
He said: “Personally I have to say I’ve found it very positive. Residents have also said how positive it is and any commucation we have back to residents is a positive, even it it’s not the answer they wanted to have.”