Cambridgeshire pothole repair firm could be fined for bad fixes

A major highways firm whose pothole repair work was described as "ridiculous" and "unbelievable" by a council's officers could now be fined for bad fixes. Cambridgeshire County Council's £51m-per-year contract with M Group - which the council admitted had not delivered the "service levels expected or required" - was due to end next year. The council, which is going through local government reorganisation, has chosen to extend to 2030, with the Highways and Transport Committee chair Alex Beckett, stating the government had "given us extra advice to say that we can't simply go out and sign a new contract right now". M Group said it would "continue to drive innovation and best practice". In March last year, papers from the council's Highways and Transport Committee stated "response times and quality of work is a continued concern" when referring to its M Group contract, which is for a range of services including pothole repairs. The BBC obtained internal council documents, in which officers reviewed individual repairs and claimed to have seen "very poor workmanship", the some repairs were failing within weeks and in one case claimed the "photo say[s] it all". A group of six or so smal