Pavements

Damage to pavements is often caused by lorries mounting the pavement or by weeds growing through the surface.

Suffolk County Council maintain and repair pavements on all other public roads in Suffolk, with the exception of:

• Trunk roads are managed by W S Atkins on behalf of the Highways Agency. Any questions regarding these roads should be directed to them rather than Suffolk County Council;
• problems with road markings and reflective road studs in the following towns should be directed to:
• • Ipswich - Ipswich Borough Council;
  • Bury St Edmunds - St Edmundsbury Borough Council.

We inspect pavements for potentially dangerous defects. How often we inspect depends on the importance of the pavement. This varies from every month on busy town centre pavements to every year on lightly used pavements.

Sudden changes of level in the pavement surface of more than 20mm (3/4 inch) and holes in the surface bigger than 150mm (4 inches) long, 100mm (6 inches) wide and 20mm deep will repaired within:

• Twenty four hours on busy pavements;
• Four weeks on more lightly used pavements.

If it is not possible to carry out a repair within these times, warning signs or other temporary protection may be provided.

Where a slab pavement is in a poor general condition we will often replace it with asphalt unless there are conservation or other planning issues. This is because slab pavement can be prone to tripping hazards, especially if overrun by vehicles. Block paving is expensive but is strong and often attractive. It is therefore often used in very busy areas and where there is also delivery vehicle use, such as in pedestrianised streets.

The county council will remove dangerous obstructions and may also remove other obstructions on a pavement, such as:

• advertising boards;
• goods for sale; and
• unlicensed tables and chairs.

We aim to deal with reports of dangerous obstructions within 24 hours. Less serious obstructions will be assessed and given an appropriate priority. Sometimes no action will be taken.

If you have a query related to advertising hoardings, please contact your district or borough council as they are responsible for giving advertising consent and dealing with advertisements that breach planning regulations.

For more information contact the Customer Service Centre.