Over £150k paid out for pothole related injury and damage in Kirklees since 2023
The local authority has spent around £4m on pothole repairs over the past two years
More than £150k in compensation has been paid out by Kirklees Council for pothole-related injuries and property damage since 2023.
A Freedom of Information request has shown that the council had to pay £134,418 for these reasons in 2023, and £16,131 in 2024. The local authority also shelled out £1.78m repairing potholes in 2023 and £2.32m the following year.
We asked Kirklees Council in what circumstances compensation was awarded, and why the amount of compensation decreased so dramatically between 2023 and 2024.
Councillor Tyler Hawkins, Cabinet Member for Highways and Waste said: “Kirklees Council take all claims relating to injury or damage from the adopted highway network seriously and investigates them thoroughly in accordance with our legal responsibilities under the Highways Act 1980.
“In 2023, the council paid compensation on four injury claims arising from potholes, alongside payments for property damage caused by driving over potholes and in 2024 to date, two injury claims relating to potholes have resulted in compensation.
“The council operates a highways inspection and maintenance system to ensure legal compliance and to minimise risk to road users. All compensation claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis.
“Repairing our roads is an ongoing priority for the council and we know this is an issue that is important to our residents. We encourage anyone to report potholes via the Kirklees Council website https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/transport-roads-and-parking/report-a-pothole.aspx .”
Back in 2022, Kirklees was recognised as one of the worst places in the UK for, according to research by the Bill Plant Driving School. The borough scored second in a line-up of ten, coming after the London borough of Islington.
The council is taking action to address the state of its roads, with a major surface dressing scheme taking place on 60 of the borough’s streets this summer to prolong the life of the highway for up to 10 years. On top of this, Yorkshire and the Humber has been allocated £48m from the government to tackle the pothole “plague”, with part of this cash for Kirklees.