Council pays out more than £120,000 in pothole compensation
North Northants Council (NNC) has spent more than £120,000 on pothole compensation claims since 2022.
Over the past four years, the council has received nearly 2,000 claims for pothole-related damages, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.
Of these claims, 1,502 were rejected by the authority and less than 500 were successful, with payments made to the claimants.
The majority of cash was forked out in 2023, at £53,000, falling slightly to £49,000 paid in 2024.
Last year saw a much lower £14,600 paid out, with less than 10 per cent of claims successful. However, there are still a number of cases pending decision.
NNC has said that claims are dependent on there being a routine process of highway safety inspections and repairs.
It added that any costs that cannot be defended are covered by its highways service provider.
According to the data, the number of pothole claims almost tripled from 224 in 2022 to 622 in 2023.
There have already been 198 compensation claims lodged in January this year alone. However, NNC said there is often a peak at this time of year due to winter weather.
On average, the council paid out £305 to each successful claimant last year.
The highest compensation paid out to a single complainant came in at £4,565 in 2023, whereas the highest payout in 2025 was recorded at £2,022.
A council spokesperson told the LDRS: “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.
“We inspect the roads and footways all year round but also ask that people report defects on the highway through our website: www.northnorthants.gov.uk/roads.
“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. Any claims and costs that cannot be defended are covered by our highways service provider.”