SAM Snook (Letters, August 17) says that remedial work on Eastleigh's footways is nothing more than a quick fix.

Footway and highway maintenance in Hampshire is the responsibility of Hampshire County Council, not Eastleigh Council.

We have carried out extensive programmes of resurfacing footways throughout Eastleigh for a number of years. In addition to these resurfacing works, we also undertake surface dressing as a cost-effective way to extend the useful life of pavements.

This financial year, some £400,000 is being spent on resurfacing footways in the borough, and 21 roads (mainly in the Eastleigh and Boyatt Wood areas) are having their footways surface dressed.

Before being surface dressed, damaged areas are patched and Mr Snook discussed this work recently with our engineers. The patching should be to the full depth of the bituminous surfacing, and where this has not been the case remedial work has been arranged.

The stone chippings used in the subsequent dressing have a nominal size of 3mm and are rolled into the bitumen, which is sprayed onto the patched footway surface. The dressing work will start shortly.

COUNCILLOR MEL KENDAL, executive member for environment, Hampshire County Council.