For those of you with an iPhone you may be interested in an app that allows you to record a problem when out and about with your iPhone, using its camera and GPS, ready for checking and submitting to the council.
The application is based around the www.FixMyStreet.com website, which is already used by many local residents, Surrey County Council and Reigate & Banstead Borough Council.
FixMyStreet is a site that helps people to report, view, or discuss local problems they’ve found to their local council by simply locating them on a map.
The iPhone app and website is primarily for reporting things which are broken or dirty or damaged or dumped, and need fixing, cleaning or clearing, such as:
- Abandoned vehicles
- Dog Fouling
- Flyposting or graffiti
- Flytipping or litter
- Streetcleaning, such as broken glass in a cycle lane
- Unlit lamposts
- Potholes
Problems reported through this application are reported to the relevant council (Surrey or Reigate & Banstead) by email. The council can then resolve the problem the way they normally would.
Councillor for neighbouring Merstham, Cllr Mark Brunt said:
“I have been using this for a few weeks now and have found that it makes it really quick to see and report a problem without all the time taken to log onto the councils website and log it through there”
“If this helps other residents to report issues they find, this can only help the councils to direct the right resources and get problems fixed more quickly”
The application can be downloaded from the iTunes store using this link: FixMyStreet
For those without iPhones, you can still report problems direct to the relevant Council, as follows:
- Abandoned vehicles, dog fouling, flyposting, graffiti, flytipping, litter, streetcleaning, such as broken glass in a cycle lane – Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s online Help Shop, or via 01737 276000.
- Unlit lamposts, potholes – Surrey County Council Report It Online, or via 03456 009 009.
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My car tax is up for renewal in April. I am of the understanding that the £125 p/a I pay is solely for the upkeep of the roads (this has been confirmed by the DVLA). With the damage caused to my tires over the last 3 months, and the apparent lack of investment year on year, i feel justified in not paying.
I look forward to your response
Alex – I am waiting for the detailed figures from the County Council but in the meantime I can provide the following.
The DVLA may be right that the money it collects eventually ends up funding road maintenance, but this could only be true across the country as a whole – all of the road tax collected goes to the Treasury, and is then allocated down to each county based on a hideously complex formula, which bears little relation to population, amount of road usage etc. It may not surprise you to know that Surrey comes off very badly from this formula, and that is why it is the lowest funded county per head of population in England.
Out of interest the same method is used to allocate business rates – all rates collected in Surrey (which amount to some hundreds of millions of pounds per year) are paid to the Treasury, and only a fraction is allocated back to the County. There’s no point event starting to work out how little of the income tax, VAT, fuel tax etc that Surrey’s residents pay make it back to the county – no doubt it is an even smaller fraction.
Some approximate figures may help illustrate the point – Surrey has a population of 1.1 million people, so assume that there is 1 car per 2 people. If they each pay £125 per year (probably on the low side, given all the 4x4s we see around) that means a total of about £60m raised from Surrey car tax payers. Very little of this finds its way back to Surrey – the total government grant (which also covers all the other County Council services, and represents Surrey’s share of business rates and other taxation) is only £128m. By comparison the Council Tax raises £552m, and in recent years has had to make up the shortfall caused by the pitiful funding which Surrey receives from the central pot.
Personally speaking I think this is precisely why more of the taxes collected locally should be retained locally and spent on local services, rather than everything going through the centre.
I wouldn’t advocate withholding your car tax; however from the above you can deduce that the impact of doing so would probably not be felt by Surrey County Council, given how little of your tax would actually come back into the Surrey roads budget and the convoluted mechanism by which that would happen.
I hope this helps, and I will post up more information when I receive it.
The further information I have received from Surrey County Council is that they receive £14m per year from government for highways maintenance, yet Surrey motorists pay an estimated £700m per year in road taxes, petrol duties and other road related charges. It is estimated that £200m is needed to bring Surrey’s roads up to scratch.
Alex – I would recommend that you submit a claim to SCC – if it was caused by a pothole which was had been reported but not repaired, you should be eligible for the cost of damage. Call 03456 009 009 to find out how.
There is now a new iPhone app for the FixMyStreet service. It has been developed privately, but has the support of FixMyStreet and is now linked in their FAQ.
It is provided free and can be found at http://www.streetreport.co.uk or by simply searching for StreetReport in iTunes or the iPhone app store.
Many Thanks
Martin Stephenson
Author of StreetReport.
I would like to raise two points.
Sandcross lane between the Beehive pub and Hitchins way,has since the winter snows been a dangerous stretch of road.
Drivers,myself and many others I have spoken to drive on the wrong side of the road to avoid the pot holes.This seems to me an accident waiting to happen,,some day if someone comes around the bend too fast, whilst a car is on the wrong side,with the parked cars to contend with there can only be one outcome.
When is this road going to have some resurfacing.Further along towards Sandcross church there are more pot holes.
At the PCSO meeting in May one of the Surrey county councillors gave a date for work to be done to the road,
We have seen nothing yet.
My second point…
I would like to report that the street light in the alley way at Hartswood play area seems to be faulty.
One minute it is on and then goes out for a period of time.
This alleyway is used by people getting to Hitchins way.If the light is not working there could be a danger pedestrians.
I hope you will act on both my issues
Many thanks
Ron Webb
Dear Mr Webb,
Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention – I have passed these on to one of the local councillors for that ward to investigate and respond to you. I do not know the specific circumstances of Sandcross Lane, but I do know that the recent government cuts have meant that a number of road resurfacing schemes have not been able to go ahead, through lack of funding – Sandcross Lane may well have been one of them.
Regards,
Julian.
With regards to Sandcross Lane has there been any update as to why no repairs have been carried out. The road has been in its current state for quite a few months, any information as to when or if the pot holes are going to be fixed wound be great for all the residents of Sandcross Lane.
Paul – this is not in my ward so I will refer it to Cllr Frances King for a response.