Kirklees pothole damage claims up more than 220 per cent since 2021
Kirklees Borough Council has spent more than £5.2 million on pothole repairs in the last three years (2022-24), according to research by Accident Claims Advice that used Freedom of Information (FOI) requests.
The council has also seen a rise in the number of compensation claims lodged against it for damage caused by potholes in the last three years.
Accident Claims Advice's investigation indicated that claims against the council for pothole damage have increased by 220 per cent since 2021.
572 legal claims were lodged against it regarding potholes in the last three years, with the figure increasing from 92 claims in 2022 to 294 last year.
As well as the £5.2 million spent on pothole repairs in the period, the council paid out a further £13,000 in compensation claims, according to Accident Claims Advice.
According to Accident Claims Advice, Kirklees Council confirmed it has 479 potholes in need of repair.
Also according to Accident Claims Advice, in 2024, the council settled a record number of claims, paying out £7,966 in compensation for 28 pothole claims.
Accident Claims Advice's public liability specialist, Beverly Faulkner, said: "Councils and local authorities have a duty of care to ensure the safety of people using public spaces, such as parks, highways, and footpaths.
"A crucial part of this is making sure the land under their control is properly maintained.
"Failing to do this can put people at risk.
"The damage caused by potholes can be catastrophic, leading to serious injury and/or costly vehicle damage.
"It is vital that roads are properly maintained and councils are held responsible for the roads they maintain."
More information about Accident Claims Advice is available at https://www.accidentclaimsadvice.org.uk/
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Britain's ailing councils are fleecing drivers
Is your council unfairly charging motorists? We want to hear from you. Email money@ On our street the sight of the postman is greeted with jubilation, such is the irregularity of his visits. But in our house the postie's arrival induces panic: has my wife received another penalty charge notice from the council? There goes another £35, or £70 if we forget to pay within a fortnight. More pain comes every April when the cost of our parking permit rises – it now costs a shade under £200 a year for the privilege of leaving our humble Honda Jazz on our potholed road. If anyone comes to visit, it costs £4.15 a day for them to park, too. And spare a thought for my colleague in London who has to pay £46 a day for a builder to park outside her house. Teetering on the edge of financial ruin, councils across Britain are now dangerously reliant on milking the dwindling number of us who dare to own a car. To be clear, I'm not a petrol head who hates public transport and cycling; quite the contrary. But for many people a car remains a necessity: my immediate neighbours include a disabled lady who walks with the aid of crutches, an electrician who must have a van for work and a teacher who needs to drive to a village school – or spend double the time walking and waiting for unreliable rural buses. New data from Cinch, an online car retailer, has found councils across the country collected £360m from residential parking permits over the past five years (the number would be higher but some authorities did not reply to the Freedom of Information request). My council, Brighton and Hove, came third in the list of local authorities ranked by revenue, raking in £28m from permits between 2020 and 2024. The others on the list were all London boroughs (see full table, below). But it's not only a London problem: Windsor and Maidenhead and Hampshire County Council have both more than tripled how much revenue they receive from permits in recent years. On top of permits for our own cars and our guests, we find ourselves paying ever-rising fines for often very minor infringements. A couple of years ago my council opened a new 'bus gate' and it caught out 38,500 drivers in one year alone. That one street generated £1.5m in fines. Is a £35 or £70 fine really appropriate for mistakenly going down a road that is perhaps 200m long? Of course not. The imposed 'low traffic neighbourhoods' – with their £130 fines, reduced to £65 if paid within 14 days – is yet another way drivers are being scalped. What happens to all this money? The 1984 Road Traffic Regulation Act makes clear that 'profit' from parking income must be spent on related costs, such as maintaining on and off-street parking. In Brighton, the council says any surplus generated by permits is 'spent on improving our local transport system for all'. But many suspect local authorities use the money taken from drivers on other projects. In 2013 the London Borough of Barnet lost a high court battle over its proposal to raise the cost of parking permits from £40 to £100 and visitors' permits from £1 to £4. At the time, Mrs Justice Land said the 1984 Act, which Barnet used to increase the charges, did 'not authorise the authority to use its powers to charge local residents for parking in order to raise surplus revenue for other transport purposes'. The next target is likely to be electric car owners, previously regarded as saints. Earlier this year, Dover District Council raised electric car parking permits by 162pc, from £40 to £105, in line with other types of vehicles. In Brighton permits are still £50 cheaper a year for electric cars. As more people ditch internal combustion engines, councils will either have to give up hundreds of thousands of pounds … or charge Teslas the same as a diesel van from the 1980s. No prizes for guessing what they'll choose. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
EV charging points approved for 20 car parks
At least 20 car parks in the Kirklees district will be fitted with new electric vehicle charging points after plans were given the go-ahead by the council. The points would be located at council-run car parks, aimed at residents with no off-road parking, the authority said. The £2.5m project was being funded by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and was the first phase in improving infrastructure for electric vehicles across the region, a spokesperson said. Councillor Moses Crook, the council's deputy leader and cabinet member for transport and highways, said: "These new chargers mean that if someone wants to make the switch to an electric vehicle, it will be a more practical option." Installation of the charging points was expected to begin later this year, the council said. Meanwhile further expansion into on-street locations was planned for later phases of the scheme. Kirklees Council said it hoped to begin the installation process this summer [Getty Images] Crook said the pilot scheme was "a critical step in making electric vehicles more accessible". "We know many households without off-street parking are currently limited if they have an electric vehicle," he added. The initiative was also part of the local authority's plan to become net zero and "climate ready" by 2038, a spokesperson said. Councillors had previously heard that chargers would need to be installed in three priority locations before the others could be put in. These were on Spring Wood Street in Huddersfield, New Street Car Park in Honley and Shaw Cross Community Centre in Dewsbury. EV points would then be installed in Batley, Birstall, Dewsbury, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Cleckheaton, Heckmondwike, Netherton, Denby Dale, Cowersley, Skelmanthorpe, Emley, Liversedge and Moldgreen. The council said although it did not intend to charge for the use of parking bays while charging, the authority or EV leaseholders may eventually decide to introduce a payment or require a permit for the bays in future. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More on this story Related internet links
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
City pays out record-breaking claims after rampant issue wreaks havoc on roads: 'Likely to keep occurring'
The Leeds City Council in England has spent more than £6 million (approximately $8 million) fixing potholes over the last few years. However, it warned that rising global temperatures and heavier rainfall mean potholes are "likely to keep occurring." As the Yorkshire Evening Post reported, despite the council allocating funds to repair potholes across the city, compensation claims for accidents caused by potholes have increased by 70% since 2021, according to data from Accident Claims Advice. The 968 claims filed against the council over the last three years have cost the government £108,000 (around $143,000). In 2023, the council paid out a record amount for compensation claims and has asked for greater financial support from the central government. Leeds City Council's spending to fix potholes has increased steadily since 2021, signaling that the warming climate is outpacing its ability to repair enough potholes before they cause damage to people's vehicles or result in injuries. According to the council, "The frequency of flooding events in Leeds has increased in recent years." In winter, intense rainfall has caused rivers to overflow, while short bursts of heavy downpours in summer have led to more surface water flooding. A combination of rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns causes asphalt to buckle and crack, eventually leading to the formation of potholes. Potholes can damage cars in several ways, resulting in minor inconveniences or significant repair bills. Punctured tires, wheel damage, and suspension issues are most common, but a deep pothole can lead to more severe problems, such as alignment and steering issues or damage to the undercarriage. They also increase the risk of car and bicycle accidents and may cause injuries to unwary pedestrians. "Councils and local authorities have a duty of care to ensure the safety of people using public spaces, such as parks, highways and footpaths," Public Liability Specialist Beverly Faulkner told the Yorkshire Evening Post. "A crucial part of this is making sure the land under their control is properly maintained. Failing to do this can put people at risk." "It is vital that roads are properly maintained and councils are held responsible for the roads they maintain," she added. Would you live in a city where every road was underground? Sign me up Depends on how it looks Only if you paid me No freaking way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. This is a perfect example to show that even though addressing our warming climate is expensive, ignoring its consequences is far costlier. A study published in Nature Communications found that if action is not taken to address climate change, it could result in global economic losses of between approximately $150 trillion and $792 trillion by 2100. In comparison, limiting warming to 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels by transitioning to clean energy would cost major economies between $16 trillion and $103 trillion. In 2024, investments in clean energy were nearly double those in dirty fuel, and more homeowners are switching to solar power than ever before. These actions will help cool the planet and hopefully lead to fewer pothole issues in Leeds and elsewhere. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
