As we drove towards Cirencester recently having been away for 10 days I said to my wife “If there are two things certain in life, they are that the Tesco roundabout will still be partly closed and that there will be no workmen anywhere around……”. It was a safe bet!

What capped it all was the red warning sign we passed approaching the area that said “Caution – Workforce in place “!

If anything sums up the sheer incompetence and disorganization displayed constantly by Gloucestershire Highways, this is it.

Whether the responsibility lies with them or with Thames Water this disruption has been going on for weeks totally unnecessarily.

When there was any surface water during this period there was very little and surely not enough to cause such turmoil and inconvenience.

We have grown used to similar ineptitude over the years – roads closed or dual carriageway lanes closed for days or weeks with no sign of life - and for no seemingly good reason; pot holes repaired after months or years with just a cursory amount of filling - that then disintegrates within weeks; detour signage that is meaningless and totally confusing etc. etc.

The only way to address properly, and economically, the disgraceful state of Cirencester’s roads is to close, for a short period, a decent stretch, as happened with Ashcroft Road, and then do the job properly - as if it was meant to be a lasting solution.

Peter Mitchell,

Cirencester