North East motorists receive compensation due to potholes

Motorists in the North East have received compensation totalling over £330,000 for damage to their cars from potholes, new figures suggest.

Figures obtained by freedom of information requests by injury and damages firm Accidents Claims Advice, (ACA) have unveiled regional councils have forked out a combined £337,896.86 in compensation for cars damaged by potholes. The payouts, totalling 657, are dated  between 2022 and 2024.

The totals per council are as follows:

North Tyneside – £8,914.09 (19 claims)

Northumberland – £255,316.01 (449 claims)

South Tyneside – £14,536.55 (61 claims)

Gateshead – £16,899.39 (46 claims)

Durham – £14,563.96 (10 claims)

Newcastle £23,408.99 (61 claims)

Sunderland – £4,257.87 (11 claims)

Between 2015 and 2023, the same authorities had paid out over £3m in pothole car-related compensation. However, senior Northumberland County Council figures has disputed the ACA’s findings.

Cllr John Riddle, Cabinet Member for Improving our Roads and Highways, said: “While we can’t comment directly on the accuracy of other local authority data, the information provided appears to show a marked disparity on the level of settlements and claims made across the region. We would question whether the same parameters are being used to respond to this FOI and it may be a case of comparing apples and pears.

“We have streamlined the way we handle claims to ensure that they are processed efficiently, effectively and fairly so we have very few claims still outstanding relative to many other local authorities. In fact, senior officers from our Highways Team are now showcasing this best practice work to highways authorities across the UK so they learn from Northumberland’s leading work in this area.”

Northumberland County Council also says RAC data showed in 2023 the authority, responsible for over 3,000 miles of road, had scored the second lowest number of pothole insurance claims out of the 18 councils with the longest networks at 137.

Cllr Riddle continued: “We are confident Northumberland is an example of best practice in terms of its approach to maintaining and improving its vast road network.”

Mark Readman, Durham County Council’s head of highways, said: “We have a robust inspection and maintenance regime in place which follows the national Code of Practice for Well Managed Highway Infrastructure. As a result, 94 per cent of defects identified during our regular safety inspections are repaired within the agreed response time. This means we’re able to refute 95% of compensation claims made against the council.”

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “Work to inspect and carry out repairs on our roads and pavements takes place on a regular basis across the city.

“This represents a significant workload and, like many councils, we are managing this with limited resources. The maintenance funding we receive from the government has, for a number of years, been insufficient to meet the cost of required repairs.

“As a result we continue to direct our resources to where they are most needed and our maintenance programme is designed to ensure we prioritise the most urgent repairs and those where the risk of damage is greatest.”