Road repair specialist Velocity have used their innovative technique to support a multi-agency initiative aimed at improving community cohesion in a neighbourhood in Wolverhampton.
Debbie Smith, Cohesion Officer at the City of Wolverhampton Council, met with the community to identify opportunities to improve the neighbourhood. Debbie explained “One of the key things the community wanted was to improve the environment, particularly safety for the children. That’s one of the things we can address really quickly and efficiently.”
Residents worked together with Debbie and the team to make sure that the street was cleared of parked vehicles on the morning of the ‘day of action’. The initiative involved working in partnership with the community with colleagues from the community safety team, public health, the police and many other partners in the community, including the highways department.
John Roseblade, Head of City Transport organised for the terraced street to be cleared of parked cars for the day, allowing access for gully maintenance and street sweeping. Velocity were invited to contribute, having just completed a twelve-week programme that saw thousands of potholes fixed across the city.
John explained that the speed of Velocity’s process allowed the road to be quickly brought up to standard with the least amount of disruption for residents. “With the extent of the damage, we wouldn’t be able to get a lot done in a day with traditional patch repairs. The benefit of using the Velocity technique is that we can get in and do all of the repairs quickly, and those repairs last.”
While the repairs were being carried out, members of the various agencies involved spent time getting to know the residents to better understand their needs and identify opportunities to work together.
Dominic Gardner, Velocity’s managing director said: “As well as fixing the roads, making a bit of noise with the various pieces of equipment turned out to be a very effective way of getting people out chatting to each other!”
“It’s a privilege to be able to provide our services free of charge to support this great initiative, making a positive impact for residents in a short space of time. Every day, we help make communities better for residents by fixing and preventing potholes. We also actively look to support community groups and organisations wherever we work, fixing car parks and roads that might be a financial headache for them.”
