Angry drivers fear they are taking their lives in their hands negotiating the pothole-ridden A530 Middlewich Road near Nantwich.
The busy “A” road is now in such a state, motorists are regularly swerving in and out to avoid damage to their vehicles.
One has even written a poem about how bad the road is between Alvaston roundabout and the Rising Sun pub in Wistaston.
Almost 50 complaints have been made about the state of the road to Cheshire East Council’s “Fix My Street” page in the past month.
One driver who reported it today (January 26) said: “There at least four potholes within quarter of a mile. One is very deep and could cause a fatality to a motorbike.
“This is a very busy road and I have witnessed cars in front of me veering to the right near oncoming traffic to avoid.
“Please sort before there is serious accident. Noticed couple of weeks ago but it is now considerably worse.”
Another added: “The whole carriage way in the location is covered in potholes.
“These are unavoidable and deep. To a car they risk expensive damage. However, as a motorcyclist these potholes pose a significant risk to life.
“As these have already been reported and no action taken, the council are liable if a motorcyclist is hurt or killed due to the state of the road.”
And a third yesterday added: “Multiple potholes that have been there for months. Impossible to avoid without driving on the opposite side of the road.”
Others have been reporting the potholes on that stretch to Cheshire East throughout January.
One said on January 18: “These pot holes have been here for 24 months plus causing damage to vehicles.”
Another report from January 15 added: “This stretch of road is disgusting and dangerous.
“The road surface is disintegrating and there are multiple pot holes along it which force motorists into the centre of road or opposite side of road to avoid damaging vehicle.
“THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND SOMEONE WILL BE KILLED!!! NEEDS RESURFACING IMMEDIATELY AS REPAIRS ARE POOR AND INSUFFICIENT DUE TO LOAD ON ROAD OR BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.”
Other reports date back to November and December.
In some of the reports, Cheshire East Council has responded saying they aim to carry out repairs within five days.
But no repairs are scheduled on the authority’s own planned roadworks webpage.
Jonathan White, from Wistaston, who called the road “horrendous” has become so frustrated with the lack of action he penned the following poem:
An ode to Middlewich Road – pothole hell
Oh, Middlewich Road, what a charming display,
A crater-filled masterpiece, come what may.
Between Nantwich and Crewe, a commuter’s delight,
Where tyres go to perish, and rims take their flight.
Outside Alvaston Hall, a majestic terrain,
Of trenches and valleys that mock your disdain.
Who needs smooth asphalt? That’s terribly passé—
The thrill of the jolt keeps boredom at bay.
A co-driver’s needed, a navigator wise,
To dodge all the pitfalls and limit surprise.
For these aren’t mere potholes, oh no, don’t you see?
They’re “roadside attractions” of great infamy.
At night, it’s a joy, a real game of chance,
Where headlights and shadows perform a cruel dance.
Each hidden abyss, a sly little trap,
Awaiting your wheel with a sly, silent snap.
Cheshire East Council, your timing’s a treat,
Repairs are a myth on this pockmarked street.
But don’t you rush, take your sweet time instead—
We’ll just keep dodging until our cars are all dead.
We have contacted Cheshire East Council and ward councillors for Nantwich North/West and Wistaston.
Cllr Alan Coiley, of Wistaston Ward, said highways were due on the A530 this week.
They told him: “The heavy persistent rain hasn’t helped and has accelerated the carriageway deterioration.
“This is high on our priority list for the new financial year (after April) for carriageway patching as soon as funding has been approved.”
Has your car been damaged as a result of potholes? Have you taken action against Cheshire East Council? Are there worse roads than this?
Get in touch on [email protected]
I’ve had 2 damaged tyres as a result of this road! It’s horrendous!
You must be on drugs or delusional or don’t drive, have you seen the state of the roads in Cheshire east, I’m very sure our local mp is very aware of this problem already and has been for years, all they do is talk a good fight and deliver nothing, roads have been getting steadily worst for the past 10 years, yet they do nothing, something clearly wrong with how they are initially doing the roads, they don’t last and peel up like an orange, so when you say report it , it’s an insult, Because they already know
More incompetence from CE. CW & CW need to merge, drive economies of scale, work more effectively and all residents will benefit. Carrying on doing what they are doing and expecting different outcomes is the classic definition of madness.
Report the issue to your local labour MP Conner will sort it all out
They are wasting their time patching. They need to plane off and resurface…
They seemed to be able to do that for the crewe to Sandbach link road, but the a530 has been in a worse date for years.
The only decent bit is at Hollows Bridge, and that was because I notified them that the road was imminently about to collapse…
The road is disgusting
Fix My Street doesn’t achieve anything. You report it, they close it down, citing whatever reason for not fixing the issue. I’ve reported blocked drains and nothing done and sent photographs of grass growing out the drain holes along the A51 and was informed they couldn’t see an issue – SPECSAVERS. Majority of roads in and around Nantwich and outlaying areas are awful but nothing is being done. YET we will have a huge hike in rates this year. What beggars belief is that some councillors took out over £lm in expenses during 2024 and some individuals received £20K, which is more than some people earn as a living wage. Shouldn’t be paid expenses on top of a salary, especially as those councillors are inept at doing their jobs.
It is maniacally illogical the depth of greed of Cheshire East Council. They tout over 100 million pounds shortfall in their budget and cannot possibly afford to repair all the road damage – essentially all of their area of remit – has been riddled with potholes for years. They could have repaired all if not most of these during the scamdemic – but they of course hid behind the central government’s rhetoric – yet mainly because it was cheaper in labour and materiel. That sort of thinking will put the so-called beleaguered budget in great peril – for it will cost them far above and beyond for having waited too long to repair roads, not play with potholes under their current inane procedural abyss. I highly suggest that the council, along with the central government (who have a very heavy hand in this and so many other areas of our lives) stop attempting to lie to a more knowing populace than they erroneously believe and just “pony up the dough” and get on with proper and far more permanent repair to all infrastructure, not just roads but all of it. FYI – remember that promise to get fibre broadband everywhere? Just one tiny example of the inept, backwards and inbred people we have in so-called ccntrol.