A RESIDENT has called for those living on a crumbling road to be forced to pay for it to be repaired.

Frinton councillor Terry Allen last week called for an unexpected windfall of Government cash to be spent on much-needed projects in Tendring, including repairs to Central Avenue and Rainham Way in Frinton.

The well-used access roads, which are privately owned, are deteriorating rapidly and it is feared that if Frinton’s railway gates are blocked again following an accident, emergency services would struggle to access the town from Walton.

Speaking at a meeting of Frinton and Walton Town Council on Thursday, resident Michael Talbot, from Frinton, said: “It seems to me that section 230 of the 1980 Highways Act empowers the street works authority, Essex County Council, to order frontages to carry out repairs to private or unadopted roads which are needed to obviate danger to traffic.

“The legislation allows that authority to carry out the work itself if the order is ignored and to recover the expenses incurred from the frontages.

“I would suggest that Rainham Road is a danger to traffic, so I’d like the council to check whether this is correct and approach Essex County Council to do something about the state of the unadopted roads.”

Frinton town councillor Terry Allen told the meeting he is still looking into the issue, but is concerned that the roads could become impassable within six months if nothing is done.

Mr Allen said: “It is not just an unadopted road, it is an access road.

“It’s an access road from Walton to Frinton and Frinton to Walton.

“When you think of how many times the Frinton gates are not working and people have to use that road – it’s a real problem.

“If it gets any worse, we all know what will happen - they’re going to have to close it because something drastic will happen.

“If that happens, we’ll be prisoners in our own town and people won’t be able to get in and people wont be able to get out.

“That’s what I’m looking into issue now because it’s an access road

“It’s not just an unadopted road with a few houses either side.”

Tendring Council’s chief executive Ian Davidson last week told Mr Allen that highways issues are not a district council responsibility and when asked last month whether it would make repairs to Rainham Way and Central Avenue, a spokesman for Essex Highways responded only to say the roads are privately-owned.