ONE of the shortest roads in Davenham has become the embodiment of a neighbourhood divide.

Laburnum Road has caused years of debate about the state of its potholed surface and who is responsible.

Now lines have literally been drawn in the tarmac, with the troublesome road resurfaced on just one side of those lines.

Luke Cannon, one of the residents of Laburnum Road, said: “We have had the road re-done but the thing is that Bargain Booze decided not to do its bit of the road.

“So all the residents pulled together with the parish council, the bowling green and Cheshire West and Chester Council and we have paid £20,000 to have it all done.

“We’ve had to have a curb put down the middle of the road so it looks absolutely ridiculous – but it was either that or not having it done.”

Laburnum Road is unadopted, which means it is owned by every property that fronts on to it and is not the responsibility of Cheshire West and Chester Council’s highways department.

This means that if work has to be done, all the owners have to agree to it and share the cost.

The road leads to Davenham Bowling Club and Laburnum Road playing field, and had been a cause for concern for some years because of the potholes and ruts along it and the footpath.

Luke said: “We had the road dug out, new foundations, drainage work and there’s still another layer to go on – it’s being done to a really high standard where it’s going to last.

“But it won’t last on the other side of the curb, it’ll get full of water.”

He added: “There’s been a lot of interest in the village with people asking what’s going on.”

Bargain Booze’s head office said it could not comment because it does not own the branch, on the corner of Laburnum Road and London Road, which is a franchise.

Alison Lewis, who owns the franchise, refused to comment but in January she told the Guardian she’d had her stretch of the road repaired 12 months previously and was not ready to have it re-done.