Action scheduled
2' square ironwork manhole cover loose
Sent to Oxfordshire County Council less than a minute later. FixMyStreet ref: 8549841.
Manhole cover at junction of Manor Road, Old Woodstock with Farm End, at southbound kerb of A44, makes loud noise for every vehicle passing over it. No utility markings on it.
Council ref: ENQ251068653
Updates
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Thank you for your enquiry. This issue has been passed onto the relevant team for investigation.
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This manhole cover is still not fixed. It is very noisy indeed. It gives a double clang each time two sets of wheels go over it and when traffic is heavy it clangs repeatedly and many times an hour. It is seriously disturbing.
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This manhole cover has been broken since late November 2025. It makes an extremely loud noise WITH EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE that drives over it. Cones that have been placed in the road to prevent traffic from hitting the manhole cover keep being removed. Unclear if they were placed by locals (most likely) or council.
It is 10m from the front of our house and the horrendously loud noise entirely audible throughout. We had our first child at the end of last year and have been too busy with newborn life to report.
However, IT IS NOW SO LOUD IT PREVENTS OUR 3M OLD BABY FROM FALLING ASLEEP/SLEEPING!
IT IS SERIOUSLY EFFECTING OUR WHOLE FAMILY’S WELLBEING, MENAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
PLEASE FIX AS A MATTER OF PRIORITY !!!
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This manhole cover has been broken since late November 2025. It makes an extremely loud noise WITH EVERY SINGLE VEHICLE that drives over it. Cones that have been placed in the road to prevent traffic from hitting the manhole cover keep being removed. Unclear if they were placed by locals (most likely) or council.
It is 10m from the front of our house and the horrendously loud noise entirely audible throughout. We had our first child at the end of last year and have been too busy with newborn life to report.
However, IT IS NOW SO LOUD IT PREVENTS OUR 3M OLD BABY FROM FALLING ASLEEP/SLEEPING!
IT IS SERIOUSLY EFFECTING OUR WHOLE FAMILY’S WELLBEING, MENAL HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE.
PLEASE FIX AS A MATTER OF PRIORITY !!!
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Thank you for your enquiry. We have investigated your report and it has been actioned to be fixed.
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Please can the person that keeps puting the road fence parallel to the road just off the pavement please stop. Because of the slim profle, it is not noticable, it is also not designed to be used like this. Understand you are annoyed by the noise, but there is no need to make it dangerous.
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The barrier also has a reflective cone in front of it to assist visibility. It is not at all dangerous bearing in mind max speed of 20 mph on that stretch of road. A better fix would be to slather a couple of shovel-fulls of cold tar over the offending iron-work and tamp it down but failing that (or any kind of proper, official repair) the barrier and cone serve to keep wheels off and make life bearable. Passing motorists may need to take a bit more care, but they only make the appalling noise, they don’t have to live with it. We’re very grateful for their help meantime.
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As a cyclist, it is without doubt a dangerous thing to do. Without the cone a car trying to pass me didnt see the fence and I was almost sevearly injured. Please, as a neighbour I ask you to remove the fence and keep the cone so it is relitively safe for cyclists. There is no need for both fence and cone.
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I am sorry to hear that a car was unable to pass you in a safe manner. As a fellow cyclist, I would suggest that this is more an issue of drivers' general attitude/behaviour towards cyclists on the road than specific to the cone and fence on Manor Rd.
As one of the residents closest to this manhole cover (MHC), and one among a few, who have been ensuring it is covered by both cone and fence for our shared sanity, I will make a few things clear for everyone's broader understanding:
1) If the Council could fix the problem none of this would be necessary.
2) The (cobbled together) means of covering the MHC are far from ideal. There is a cone placed ahead of the barrier precisely for the purpose of visibility. Traffic stops and gives way without issue. If traffic actually travelled at 20mph, the cone and barrier can be easily seen day or night. (Indeed there is a street lamp c. 15m from their location.) Similarly, if cars passed cyclists appropriately on the road, the use of any means to cover the MHC would not be an issue.
3) We have resorted to both a cone and fence because a single cone lasts a matter of hours before a car/van/lorry destroys it. Thereafter, the utterly horrendous constant banging restarts. The current set-up ensures visibility for road users and continued noise prevention for those that desperately need it.
To whomever wrote: "Understand you are annoyed by the noise, but there is no need to make it dangerous."
To suggest that your neighbours are deliberately endangering others because of a nuisance is as ridiculous as it is assumptive and reductionist. You clearly do not "understand" at all - "annoyed" doesn't even come close.
Without the barrier and cone placed there, the extraordinarily loud bang produced 100s/1000s of times per day from the MHC is tantamount to torture. The noise can be heard so loudly through every room in our house that it not only wakes us from our sleep, but, when a bus/lorry travels across the MHC (speeding, naturally) it is as loud as close-range gunshot. We have been living with this since November last year, and quite frankly, are at our wit's end. The cone and fence are a desperate attempt to make this nightmare liveable for those nearest.
The level to which this disrupts our lives, sleep and sanity without the use of the cone and fence cannot be understated.
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Remove the fence, keep the cone, simple ask for improved road safety. Put the fence back to where it should be, across the road and protecting pedestrians from the bollard that has fallen over. You do not need to write war and peace or faint accusations. No one is accusing you of deliberately making it dangerous.
Fact 1- The fence isn’t designed for the purpose you are using it for. Fact 2- The cone is sufficient for stopping cars go over the cover
You will see the other report on the map, highlighting the use of wrong road furniture. Good day to you.
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If ‘Fact 2’ was, well, a fact, those living nearest the cover would not have resorted to the (mis)use of other road furniture as a solution.
Wikipedia plot summary… A single cone is/was only effective at preventing cars from going over the cover for the duration that it lasts - a few hours to days max. Countless have been destroyed. Then maddening din restarts again.
Hence why a simple request for improved road safety was met with a tribute to Tolstoy.
Should anyone have any viable suggestions that allow us all to live in peace (all puns intended), safety and appropriately used road furniture, and/or endless supply of cones, please go ahead…
P.S. Thank you to whomever had been constantly replacing the cones. You are an angel.
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Traffic cones are designed to collapse or fail when struck, which helps disperse the energy from an impact and reduces the risk of injury. They are also typically used in groups to guide or control traffic flow. Fences, however, are not designed with this principle in mind and are rigid by nature. Because of this, they carry a significantly higher risk of causing injury, particularly when used in situations they were not intended for. At this point, I don’t believe I’m able to get across that the current setup increases the risk of someone being hurt. There seems to be no willingness to balance the need to reduce noise with the need to maintain a safe environment for everyone. From my perspective, noise appears to be the only concern. Given what happened in my recent incident, and the fact that it has not changed your view, I will stop cycling and instead walk to work on the opposite side of the road. The irony of raising a safety concern and feeling that it has not been heard is not lost on me.
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We have gained a cone, and now both cone no longer have reflective material on them. Fence was removed. The one across the road was nabbed then returned.
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Barrier again knocked over, causing cars to drive in the middle of the road, ignoring on coming traffic!!!!!@
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Raised ironworks at point road narrows. Any accident is likely to be serious - it is now over 6 months of inaction by the council.
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Yay, barrier has been removed and replaced with cones that have proper reflection.
Good job.
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Oh, thay didnt last long. Someone must really love thier barrier!
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