Reporting Highways Issues to Cambridgeshire County Council

Following on from the recent cold weather and the County Council's decision to increase maintenance funding for work on the highways it seems to be a good time for a reminder of the best way to report highways issues.

The first point to make is that "highways" is not just roads. Highways covers roads, paths (both those bordering the road and, potentially, those off-road paths like the Spine) it also covers the state of roundabouts, signage, and (amongst other things) public rights of way.

To report an issue you can call the County Councils Highways Agency on 0345 045 5212, or write to them at;
Cambridgeshire Highways
CC1305
Castle Court
Shire Hall
Castle Hill
Cambridge
CB3 0AP

Alternatively, and this is the Councils preferred option, you can report an issue online via the County Councils website via the URL;

http://goo.gl/9wMHL

The website presents you with a fairly simple form which you can either choose "Report with a map" or report by just entering the details.

If you choose to "Report with a map" you will be presented with the following page;

Reporting a Highways Problem on CCC Website

The first step is to pick the type of problem you are reporting;

• Bridges
• Material on the highway (debris, a shredded tire from a HGV, spilt load from a lorry, etc)
• Public rights of way
• Roads and pavement surfaces
• Sign, bollard and furniture (street furniture, barriers, lighting, etc)
• Traffic lights
• Traffic management
• Tree issues

I've included a brief explanation for the items where I don't feel their explanation is immediately clear. Once you've picked the type of problem you need to report you need to pick where the issue is, just type in your street name and you will be presented with all the occurrences of your street across Cambridgeshire, pick the correct one and it will be shown on the map.

The map (at the top right) will then show you the area you have selected including any existing open issues the County is aware of.

It's worth noting that if it's not shown on the screen then the County Council is not aware of it (or were aware of it and it's already been fixed) - this is a direct view to their internal systems.

When you've selected a location, enter a bit more detail (like "in the middle of the road" for a pothole) click "Continue".

You will now be presented with a "Describe the problem" page;

Describing A Highways Problem

On this page you need to pick one of the following options describing your problem (these are dependant on the type of problem you picked earlier). For example for a highways issue the available "problem details" are;

• Flooding/ standing water
• Footway pothole/ trip
• Grass needs cutting
• Kerb damage
• Manholes and gratings
• Overgrown weeds
• Overhanging vegetation
• Road pothole
• Roots damaging surface

It's important to give as much detail as possible in the report. It's very frustrating (both for officers and the person reporting an issue) if they turn up to a site but can't find the source of the problem as there isn't enough information here. 

When you've entered as much detail as possible and then click "Continue".

The final page simply asks for your information so they can keep you to date with the progress of your issue. This isn't required but if you don't fill it in it makes it a lot harder for them to work (they have no contact "on the ground" who they can talk to about the issue).

Click "Submit" when you're done. You'll be sent an email with details of the issue you've raised including a unique reference number which will allow you (or anyone else with the reference) to track updates.