Residents of a street in Bushey are so fed up with the condition of their Tarmac they are asking for a refund from the Hertfordshire County Council.

In a letter addressed to Hertsmere MP James Clappison, they stated:

“The residents of Montacute Road feel that the road should be resurfaced immediately and if the council is not able to do that then they should get a rebate of 99 per cent of their Council Tax until the time roads can be repaired.”

Hertfordshire Highways has stated that the road was not included in Hertfordshire County Council's Integrated Works Programme for the year 2009/10 or the Forward Works Programme until 2013/14.

Mark Goodyear, lead assistant district manager, said: “This road is not in pristine condition and I admit it falls far short of this.

“The best I can offer to do is to add it to a list under consideration now for large scale carriageway patching works (also known as 'Super Cat 2' works) during next financial year 2010/11.”

The residents may have to put up with the poor road surfacing for sometime as there are other roads taking priority in the area.

Jane Vine from Hertfordshire Highways added: “Our Integrated Works Programme covers the full range of maintenance, not just on roads but also on pavements, street lighting, bridges and many other aspects of highways maintenance.

“The scale and the fact that our roads are much busier than the national average adds to the challenge, making works on them more difficult and speeding up the rate at which they naturally deteriorate.

“Council Tax provides part of the funding to deal with all of Hertfordshire's roads and pay for other essential council services, so their suggestion would not be appropriate.”

Hertfordshire Highways can be contacted by telephoning 0300 123 4047. Highways faults can also be reported on the same number, as well online via www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults.