Reporting common street problems used to be a long-winded affair involving  numerous calls to different local council departments before speaking to the right person.

Now, however, Sedgley residents can join the millions of people nationwide who have used new website, FixMyStreet, to get neighbourhood issues resolved rapidly.

Users of the site simply enter their postcode to report a problem such as graffiti, fly tipping, broken paving slabs or faulty street lighting, using the website’s map to locate the area precisely. The website then contacts the council on their behalf, ensuring the reported problem gets straight through to the relevant department.

Results

Results are staggering. In the past week, there have been 1,121 reports submitted nationally, with 1,995 issues resolved in the past month and 166,090 updates on reports.

In Sedgley, recently reported and resolved issues have included a large number of holes on the corner of Gospel End Road and Sandyfields Road, a broken handrail in Hall Lane, Woodsetton, graffiti in Woodcross Street and the removal of a dead hedgehog in Dovedale Road.

Sean Meehan, a keen cyclist who reported the dangerous potholes in Gospel End Road, says in his update on the site: “The potholes have had a temporary fix with some patch repairs. I was impressed how quickly after I submitted the report to FixMyStreet the holes were filled. I doubt that the response would have been so rapid if I’d contacted the council myself. Very well done.”

FixMyStreet works on a simple premise – it puts people’s reports on the website as well as sending it to the relevant council. This simple action has a number of valuable side-effects – it increases council accountability, helps prevent the same problem being reported multiple times, allows users to see how many issues have been reported in their local community and allows councils to show how many of them it has fixed.

The website also has a range of useful free resources, such as posters and flyers, to help local residents spread the word about this invaluable service.

Its current campaign, Fix Before the Freeze, aims to get problems such as potholes and broken pavements, resolved before the predicted harsh winter makes them even worse.

Visit the website today to see how local street issues can be solved swiftly with FixMyStreet.