We have had enough. Whether residents or visitors to Elstree and Borehamwood, our experiences are that the state of the roads in our town has been deteriorating for years.

Each winter, the disruption and danger created by potholes seems to be getting worse. Along key roads that are riven with what we can only describe as mini-craters, reports of damage to cars (at significant cost to drivers), risk of injury to pedestrians and in at least one case - a hospitalisation - caused by these are deeply troubling.

We are concerned that unless a longer-term solution is urgently sought to address this issue, it will only be a matter of time before someone is killed, as cars swerve to avoid potholes and crash into pedestrians or oncoming vehicles, or cyclists are upended.

The problem is sometimes most severe outside of our schools and nurseries, also placing our children at risk. Cowley Hill and Summerswood Primary Schools are examples where numerous deep potholes exist close to school gates.  

Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is the authority responsible for fixing potholes and repairing the roads. We believe they are currently failing to protect us. Patching is a strategy that we feel is short-termist and ends up wasting huge amounts of taxpayers’ money as potholes are filled, only to open up again, sometimes within days or weeks.

We need lasting solutions.

Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council supports efforts to resolve these issues. At its Transport and Community Safety Forum on 18th February 2026, residents expressed their anger at the pothole crisis. Either there or on local forums they have identified Furzehill Road, Aycliffe Road, Leeming Road, Alexandra Road, Studio Way, Stratfield Road, Chester Road, Rowley Lane and Elstree Hill North as  among the worst affected roads. Several others also need significant repair work.

Central Government has recently announced record £7.3m investment in local road repair between now and 2030, and HCC has itself just allocated £107m for road maintenance in addition to the £30m already earmarked. The money is there, it must now be invested sensibly so that the misery caused by this scourge ends for the foreseeable future.

We therefore demand that Hertfordshire County Council:

• Conducts an urgent audit to identify the worst affected roads in Borehamwood and Elstree, then implements a targeted resurfacing programme accordingly.
• Is transparent about how the £137m of planned road-repair funding will be allocated across Hertfordshire.
• Reviews its road repair policy, including the quality and durability of materials used and explores the new technologies that are being trialled around the UK to tackle the backlog.

Enough is enough. As residents or users of roads in Borehamwood and Elstree, we will stand for it no more.

Councillor Dan Ozarow - Mayor of Elstree and Borehamwood