ONE of Harwich’s oldest streets is being failed and left to crumble as huge dips and potholes are not deemed bad enough to fix.

Church Street in Harwich is home to the town’s Grade I listed Guildhall and Forester’s, which is the town’s oldest building dating back to 1450.

But Harwich town and Essex county councillor Ivan Henderson, said the road, in the town’s conservation area, is sinking.

“It’s really bad, there are big craters but I’ve been told it has been inspected and it doesn’t need doing. It’s ridiculous.

“I was looking at it the other day with former mayor Dave McLeod and he thinks there under wooden slats under the road and it’s sinking.

“I think it’s going to be a costly repair so they are putting it off. You have to see it to believe it.

“There is no doubt in my mind this road is now sinking in several places and meets the criteria for urgent repair.”

“There are weeds growing on footpaths in the Old Harwich conservation area which have been allowed to grow without being treated to heights never seen before.

“Of course, we need the prestigious events like the cycle tour but residents live here all year round and they need to be looked after.

Essex Highways said engineers have surfaced more than the equivalent of ten laps around the M25 in Essex over the past three years.

A spokesman for Essex Highways said: “An inspection of Church Street, Harwich, was carried out in January found no major defects in need of repair.

“Defects on the road can be reported on our online reporting tool essex.gov.uk/highways.”

A spokesman for Tendring Council said: “The council has recently taken on street spraying on behalf of Essex County Council and has completed the first spraying.

“The reason for taking on this work was to improve the overall standard.

“The council welcomes information and inquiries from all areas which will help us to achieve this aim.”