North Northamptonshire Council pays out just 23 pothole compensation claims in 3 years

North Northamptonshire council paid out on just 23 pothole compensation claims during the past three years.

The authority, which has come under increasing fire in recent months for the dreadful state of local roads, has paid out a total of just £14,500 in compensation to motorists who have had their cars damaged since April 2021.

Hundreds of people have contacted this newspaper or commented on our social media pages to let us know how fed-up they are with the roads.

Dozens have told us about damage to their cars caused by potholes and broken-up road surfaces.

But statistics released to this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act show that the situation is costing the council virtually nothing.

Since April 2021 there have been a total of 874 claims for compensation submitted to the council. 195 of those were in 2021/22, just 32 were submitted in 2022/23 and a whopping 647 were put forward in 2023/24.

But the council admitted liability in just 23 – or 2.6 per cent – of those cases.

For the past year there are still 421 claims to be decided.

The highest single payout in 2021/22 was for an incident on the A43 Kettering Road for which the council paid out £1,132.

In 2022/23 they paid £1,891 for damage sustained in Pipewell Road, Desborough.

And in 2023/24 NNC paid out £2,500 in compensation following an incident at the Windmill Avenue / Stamford Road roundabout.

Readers have been trying to navigate the compensation process, with some saying they have been waiting months for a response over their claims.

Leader of the Labour opposition at NNC, Cllr Matt Keane (Lab, Corby West) said: “We have all seen the state of the roads in North Northamptonshire and even the leader Cllr Jason Smithers has spoken about the poor state they are in.

"At last year’s budget I urged the authority to invest in fixing our roads. When I speak with residents its always one of the top concerns that are raised.

"There are far too many examples of dangerous potholes, and they are damaging the vehicles of our residents. I will be asking questions of Kier and the authority on why so many claims have been refused and what the threshold for liability is to make sure the motorists of North Northamptonshire have not been shortchanged on compensation.”

The council has a statutory responsibility to maintain and repair the roads. They must keep them in a fit state to accommodate the 'ordinary traffic which passes or maybe expected to pass' along them.

Motorists can claim for damage but the council has a defence if it can establish that ‘reasonable care’ has been taken to ensure that the road was not dangerous to traffic.

Kier has the highways contract for North Northamptonshire which is worth £30m each year. The company was chosen to run one of the county’s most valuable contracts despite multiple complaints about the performance of their forerunner, Kier WSP, which looked after the roads under Northamptonshire County Council.

Kettering resident David Turner says he had written to the council’s highways department about the state of the road in which he lives, Bowhill in Kettering.

He said some of the potholes have been inspected recently but, inexplicably, only a few of them have been marked out for repair.

David’s letter said: “I note that the Band D Council tax charge for a property here is in excess of that levied in the London Borough of Westminster for a similar rated dwelling. Whilst I would not presume to speak for His Grace the Duke of Westminster, I am sure that he would be reluctant to put up with a highway in this state!

“Moreover, if you were to enter Bowhill from Gypsy Lane, you would quickly conclude that it is like driving over the back of a dromedary!”

NNC’s executive member for highways Cllr Matt Binley (Con, Queensway) said: “We appreciate the frustrations motorists may have if damage has been caused by a pothole - maintaining the highway network is one of our key priorities and we are committed to continued investment in our roads.

“Winter weather has a big impact on highway surfaces and we often see a peak in defects at this time of year. As such, work has already started on our spring and summer programme of repairs.

“We inspect the roads and footways all year round but also ask that people report defects on the highway through our website.

“If defects meet our intervention levels they will be repaired as part of our programme.

“When reporting defects through our website, we ask that they provide as much detail as possible to include an exact location.

“The council has no influence over whether a motorist makes a claim or not and all insurance claims are assessed on a case by case basis.

“However Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980 provides the council with a statutory defence against claims where it can establish that reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the part of the highway to which the action relates was not dangerous to traffic.

“This is dependent on there being a systematic process of highway safety inspections, intervention and repairs.”

Motorists can report defects to the road and check on the progress of repairs on the council’s website.