FACED with 53 potholes on its 17km of road, Foxley Group parish council got to work.

Three months on and all holes have been filled in, with Foxley setting both the pace and example.

Foxley succeeded through an extension of the existing parish Lengthsman scheme, which lets parish authorities meet minor maintenance works – usually the likes of cutting and clearing – with funds from Herefordshire Council.

An extension of the scheme, to be decided on next month, would see parishes allowed to undertake some highway maintenance, as and when agreed by the council’s public realm contractor Balfour Beatty Living Places (BBLP).

Foxley’s example has already been put to the council’s overview and scrutiny committee as an example of what could be achieved.

The committee acknowledged that, where Foxley went, other parishes could follow.

Some have already been working with BBLP and its locality stewards as Foxley’s fellow trialists.

Many of the clerks to Foxley Group, including Wellington and Pyons Group parish councils, said the trial benefited their respective patches.

Chris Bucknell, from Wellington, said: “The trial provided a means of being able to respond directly to parishioners’ concerns and be seen to be able to be proactive.”

While Geoffrey Vaughan, from the Pyons Group, added: “The scheme has proved as successful as we hoped, and our roads are in a far better condition today than they have been for a number of years.

“Now, when potholes appear, we are able to fix them before they develop into serious hazards, allowing Balfour Beatty to concentrate on major works.”