Drivers passing through a "massive" pothole in Potters Bar have raised concerns over the level of urgency to fix the issue. 

Highview Medical Centre in The Elms, Annandale Medical Centre and Oakmere Library share the High Street car park.  

The road leading into the shared car park has a large pothole, which has been deemed as "low priority" by Hertfordshire County Council, according to the medical centre. 

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Highview Medical Centre at The Elms, Annandale Medical Centre and Oakmere Library share a parking lot on the High Street.  Highview Medical Centre at The Elms, Annandale Medical Centre and Oakmere Library share a parking lot on the High Street.   (Image: Vivien Arey)

Vivien Arrey, the director of Herts Ability - a charity that helps people with disabilities get back to driving, said: "Every car that goes into the surgery has to go over it and it's big. If people are walking and they are pushing a wheelchair, they go down a great big pothole. It cannot be considered as low priority.  

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"People that aren't very well use that road to go to the doctors, so it seems very unfair to them that this is considered to be low priority." 

Soni Prasad, the Annandale Medical Centre manager, said: "Many patients with disabilities use this path and it really affects them. especially when it's raining and they can't see how deep it is. I don't understand how it can be considered as low priority." 

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Many disabled patients use this path, and it really affects them especially when it's raining, and they can't see how deep it is.Many disabled patients use this path, and it really affects them especially when it's raining, and they can't see how deep it is. (Image: Vivien Arey)

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "On this specific pothole, it appears that there was a miscommunication about the location of this pothole, which led to it being classified as low priority.  

"Our highways team will reassess the pothole and reclassify it as necessary." 

It is unclear when the highway teams will reassess the pothole. 

                                                                                                         

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The spokesperson added: “We aim to make the most significant potholes safe within 24 hours but the majority of potholes that are big enough to need rapid attention receive a first-time permanent repair either within five days or within 20 days, depending on factors like the size of the pothole and how busy the road is.  

"Smaller, less urgent, potholes are repaired as part of planned road resurfacing.

“We encourage road users to report potholes, or any other defect, to us online at hertfordshire.gov.uk/highwayfaults. 

"This ensures that they are in our system and, even if we can’t repair them immediately, we can use the information to help us plan our maintenance programmes.”