Lowestoft paving slab repaired after fall injury concerns

The damaged section of pavement on London Road North in Lowestoft became the focus of concern after Trish Riches, a Disability Advice North East Suffolk manager, was injured in a fall, which also left an 86-year-old woman requiring hospital treatment.

The incident sparked calls for urgent action from locals and Jess Asato, Lowestoft MP, who urged Suffolk County Council to carry out repairs and consider wider improvements to the town centre.

Trish Riches, manager of Disability Advice North East Suffolk (DANES), who was injured after tripping on a dangerous paving slab in Lowestoft town centre. (Image: Jess Asato's office)

Now, Harbour ward councillor Robin Baxter-Ayling has confirmed the defect has been fixed after an inspection found it fell below the council's normal intervention threshold.

In an updated statement, Mr Baxter-Ayling said a full inspection of the site was carried out on August 11.

Lowestoft MP Jess Asato. (Image: Jess Asato's office)

He said: "The investigation revealed that the defect measured 10mm.

"Under standard council guidelines, a fault of this size does not meet the necessary threshold to trigger an immediate, reactive intervention in line with the current Highways Maintenance Operational Plan."

Despite this, the councillor said he took action following concerns from locals and the recent incidents.

Robin Baxter-Ayling Suffolk County Councillor (Image: Suffolk County Councillor)

He added: "Recognising the impact and disruption this issue caused local residents, especially the recent incident involving Mrs Riches and other users, I took direct action and formally authorised the deployment using my Local Highways Budget to fully fund the necessary remedial works."

The dangerous paving slabs in Lowestoft town centre that tripped up locals (Image: Jess Asato's office)

According to Mr Baxter-Ayling, repair teams were quickly deployed and completed work at the site on August 17.

Mr Baxter-Ayling said: "Investing in our ward's infrastructure remains one of my and Reform's top priorities, and I will continue to use all available local funding streams to keep my ward safe and well-maintained."

In response to the criticisms over the delay in tackling the problem, Suffolk County Council had said: "Suffolk Highways takes public safety seriously and we prioritise our response based on the level of risk presented to people and the importance of the location.

"Pavements in busy town centre locations, such as London Road North, are inspected more frequently than those with lower levels of pedestrian use, and defects that meet our safety intervention criteria are repaired within defined timescales."