Back in March 1965, angry residents in a Carlton street were complaining to reporters from the Nottingham Guardian after their road was turned into a ‘quagmire’ by builders.
Those living on Gardenia Grove complained that it had now become ‘a daily occurrence’ for milk and bread vans to be trapped in the mud and sometimes break-down vehicles had to be called to their assistance.
Gardenia Grove was then a private, unmade road, and several years previously, residents had put down a hard surface on their side with ashes and ballast.
But since building operations began on the 51 bungalows and chalets in the street, however, they claimed their side of the road had been churned up by lorries and bulldozers.
Mr, Walter Hunt, of Salcombe, Gardenia Grove said at the time that he would now leave his car at home whenever he could.
“It’s just a death trap to drive along the road, particularly when it is wet, At the exit to the grove there is a hill and you have to be extremely careful not to skid,” he said.
Mr. Hunt had put down over nine tons of hard core on his road frontage.
“That has just been wasted now. Bulldozers and lorries have put earth and clay all over it.”
One of the complaints was that workmen had put a clay surface on the opposite side of the road and so vehicles are forced to travel on the surface made by the residents.
“This ruins the surface even more,” added Mr. Hunt.
He said that although Carlton UDC had agreed to investigate the willingness of residents to pay for the road to be made up, it had no jurisdiction over the condition of the road.
Mrs, Lily Whittington, of The Poplars, said: When children come home from school their boots and shoes are filthy. These conditions are ruinous to shoes.”
For most of the residents, there is a ritual of changing footwear before entering the house.
Mr, W. Scott, managing director of W. Scott (Nottm) Estate Co. who were building contractors on the site, denied that their firm had been responsible.
“We have provided our own surfaced road from Gardenia- grove and this has been wired off so that our own lorries can’t get onto the grove.”
He added that his firm had offered to contribute towards the cost of making up the road.
Mr. L. G, Butterworth, a director of Butterworth and Partners, engineering contractors of Langley Mill, who were also working on the building project, said that bulldozers had not been used on the site since September.
