A review into the way Essex County Council manages pothole repair was rejected by Conservative councillors.

The urgent motion was proposed at a meeting of ECC’s full council on May 15, after being proposed by the Lib Dems.

The motion called for a scrutiny review into the timetable of repairs, repair methods and quality control standards.

Speaking after the debate, county cllr David Kendall said: “I know many Essex residents will be very angry and frustrated when they hear about this decision.

“The Conservatives have missed a great opportunity to seriously review the pot hole issue.

“I believe in doing so, they have failed to address the serious concerns many residents have regarding how pot holes are assessed, how they are repaired, and the quality and longevity of those repairs.

“While any new money proposed to deal with this issue has to be welcomed, simply throwing more money at the problem is not the answer, it is how the money is used.”

According to Essex County Council, high priority potholes on high priority roads will be repaired within two hours.

This increases to up to 28 days for less urgent repairs and indefinitely for the lowest priority.