Figures reveal huge rise in claims against Calderdale Council for pothole damage to vehicles
The number of claims made against Calderdale Council for pothole damage to vehicles has rocketed over the last four years, the Halifax Courier can reveal.
According to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act, compensation claims made to the council for vehicles damaged by potholes was just 32 in 2021, rising to 52 in 2022.
But this increased to 132 in 2023 and stands at 179 so far in 2024, totalling 395 since the start of 2021.
The council has paid out £7,888 in compensation for pothole damage since 2022, with the highest individual payout costing £1,463 earlier this year.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Transport, Coun Sarah Courtney, said: “We continue to do all we can to tackle potholes and maintain good quality roads, however despite our efforts to conduct regular and thorough carriageway inspections, we face significant challenges to address defects across the network as quickly as we would like to.
“The deterioration of roads is a national problem and Calderdale is experiencing the same issues as every local authority. We understand the importance of good quality roads and will continue to do all we can to make our limited budget stretch as far as possible.
“We continue to review our policies and procedures to ensure we deliver value for money and this means focusing our efforts by resurfacing and renewing the most deteriorated sections of our network. We are prioritising maintenance work on unclassified roads this year, with an increase in workforce repairing potholes on the network.”