An Orpington resident who gained national attention by putting rubber ducks in potholes to highlight the state of local roads says his tactics have helped get a “record number” of defects fixed.
Tim Webb, 66, began arranging rubber ducks and toy diggers in his “pothole dioramas” across the Orpington area at the start of the year.
The resident said he began his campaign in an effort to highlight the scale of the issue to Bromley Council by posting pictures of the scenes on FixMyStreet and Facebook groups.
Mr Webb spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) in May during the height of his campaign.
Since then, Mr Webb and his dioramas have appeared on various national outlets including our own (see above), The Mirror, BBC and has even featured on Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.
Photo by Joe Coughlan
“I think the council initially didn’t know quite what to make of what I was doing… There were an awful lot of road defects, including potholes, and I initially wanted to draw attention to the problem and get some action taken,” he said.
“It is interesting when you run a campaign because you’re never quite sure how it’s going to take off, what’s going to evolve, and I never expected to end up on live TV or live radio. I’ve got a feature coming up on a calendar as well of the 12 most unusual people in the world.”
Photo by Joe Coughlan
Bromley Council announced in May that a second contractor had been appointed on a temporary basis to repair the borough’s potholes.
They also said the typical number of potholes needed to be repaired before Christmas each month was 900, but that the harsh weather seen the previous winter had increased the figure to 1,500 jobs per month.
Conservative Councillor Nicholas Bennett, Executive Councillor for Transport, Highways and Road Safety for Bromley Council, said in a statement: “There continue to be industry wide shortages of staff to carry out this important work and there are a number of factors which mean this an issue which is complex to completely resolve, which is why we are taking the action we have.
“Whilst we did take the decision to resurface Westmoreland Road, it is noteworthy that funding from TfL has reduced since 2018 for our principal road network where previously funding would have been available for such projects.”
Mr Webb said he feels his “polite but consistent” campaign may have helped contribute to the speed at which the additional contractors were enlisted.
He said he is “delighted” to see the council has focused and sped up the process of filling the borough’s potholes since he started posting the pictures online.
“I think maybe I helped to bring it forward or flag it up for attention, and that’s the thing that I’m most proud of because when I drive around, I know it sounds a little bit sad, but I get quite chuffed when I see that it’s been fixed,” Mr Webb said.
But he added that despite the council making a greater effort to manage the backlog of potholes in the borough, areas that see multiple defects in one stretch still remain an issue.
The junction between Cray Avenue, Kent Road and Poverest Road currently has ten separate reports on FixMyStreet regarding potholes or related road defects.
He said: “There’s far less potholes about than there were say a month, two months or certainly six months ago. They must be clearing hundreds every week.
“The good news is this area here I would say is very much the exception to the rule. But I think it stands out because everywhere else is looking great.
“The fundamental problem at the heart of this is there still doesn’t seem to be a very good system of dealing with multiple potholes.”
Mr Webb said there appears to be a feeling of mutual respect between him and the council since his campaign has slowed down.
He said the experience has made him more appreciative of the work the council does as a whole: “I suppose I don’t feel the need at the moment to do any more pothole dioramas, and I think that I’ve made my point to the London Borough of Bromley.”
He added: “I’m pleased actually. I must admit, to be fair to them, I didn’t expect them to be so amenable… They’ve got an awful lot of issues to deal with and although yes, it’s serious, you’ve got to be realistic and say they’ve got a lot on their plate.”
Conservative Councillor Colin Smith, leader of Bromley Council, was asked at a council meeting on July 17 if he felt the council was providing residents with adequate services and value for money, in light of the additional contractor being enlisted to treat potholes.
The leader said at the meeting that a record number of potholes had been seen in the borough since last winter.
Cllr Smith said: “When delivery falls short on occasions or circumstances change, it is rightfully changed and mitigation measures are put in place as quickly as possible to address the cause.”
Bromley Council was approached for comment, but had not responded at the time of publication.
