We make it our business to talk to people across Southampton’s SO14 to SO19
A 2022 UK government report estimated that a hole is dug every seven seconds to access the 4 million km of pipes, cables, and sewers buried underground, resulting in an estimated 60,000 accidents that cost around £2.4 billion per year.
Under the current legislation, the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, utility companies are only required to pave the strips of highway they dug up, leaving pavements and roads with uneven surfaces, causing safety risks. These scars make the pavement less resistant to wear and tear.
According tot he RAC website, their RAC Pothole Index revealed that the number of pothole-related breakdowns it attended in the last quarter had doubled, while road maintenance was completed on just 3% of England’s road network in 2023/24. The 2024 RAC Report on Motoring also revealed that drivers surveyed cite the condition and maintenance of local roads as their top concern.
On 29 May 2025, Claudia Murg, founder of We Make Southampton CIC, submitted a petition to the the Parliamentary Petitions Committee, calling for;
‘The government should amend the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to require utility companies to reinstate, at their own cost, the entire width of the pavement/road rather than just the strip of highway they dug up, which leaves local councils liable for damage repairs/ injury compensation.
This petition came as a result of the 2023 film ‘Is This Street Good Enough for Me?’, which I made with six Southampton residents of different ages and abilities, exploring their day-to-day active travel experiences: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m50DhbNq3y8
Once the petition is approved and published by the Parliamentary petitions Committee, we need to gather 100.000 signatures in 6 months (3000 signatures a day every day) to get it debated by Parliament. For more information contact claudia@wemakesouthampton.co.uk
Register your interest
Listen to Claudia’s interview discussing the project on BBC Radio Solent here:
‘Is this street good enough for me?’
Patchwork pavements, smart or not-so-smart traffic lights, disjointed cycle lanes, and active travel schemes that disregard people with physical disabilities are some of the daily realities all of us encounter and cope with, in different ways when we venture on Southampton’s 3240 streets (Source: GeoPlace), or if you prefer an additional measure: 416 miles of highways (Source Southampton City Council 2021/2022 accounts).
In this 32-min documentary, six local residents in their 20s, 30s, 50s, 60s, 80s and 90s reveal the daily realities of getting out and about in Southampton and the impact on their well-being and social life. We filmed together throughout 2022 when the British Government introduced some key measures to encourage less car reliance and healthier ways to travel, in line with the climate change emergency we are going through.
If you are interested in hosting a community film screening or in helping us map the health of our streets by walking the length of the road you live on and recording what you think needs improving, please get in touch via claudia@wemakesouthampton.co.uk or by text on 07387088785. We are happy to preserve your anonymity.
This documentary was first shown on Thursday, 8 June 2023, to an audience of city council decision-makers, representatives from public health and local organisations and residents. The project was sponsored by the University of Southampton Public Engagement with Research Unit (PERu) and Social Care in Action Group, as well as We make Southampton Community Media.
SO14
Bevois Valley
Holyrood Estate
Nicholstown
Northam
Southampton City Centre
Ocean Village
St Marys SO14
SO15
Polygon
Millbrook
Shirley
Regents Park
SO16
Bassett Green
Lordshill
Lordswood
Maybush
SO17
St Denys
Portswood
Avenue Campus
Highfield & Highfield Campus
SO18
Bitterne Park
Bitterne Manor
Mansbridge
Midanbury
Townhill Park
SO19
Itchen Bridge
Peartree
Thornhill
Sholing
Weston
Woolston
This film was first shown on Thursday, 8 June 2023, to an audience of city council decision makers, representatives from public health and local organisations as well as residents. We thank our project sponsors: Social Care in Action and The University of Southampton Public Engagement with Research Unit (PERu)