Driver pothole damage claims surpass £1m in under a year

DCC have so far paid out £48,000

Devon drivers have submitted claims amounting to more than £1 million for vehicle damage caused by potholes in just eight months.

A total of 966 claims of damage have been submitted to Devon County Council since April, with the value hitting £1.1 million.

Although that’s an average of £1,138 per claim, so far the council has only paid out roughly £48,000.

The figures were obtained by Councillor Frank Letch (Lib Dem, Crediton), who was seeking information on the number of potholes the county is dealing with.

Cllr Letch said the figures showed that 28,801 reports of potholes have been made by members of the public in this financial year alone, and that the council had identified 1,505 potholes for repair.

Multiple reports from members of the public could relate to the same pothole, which partly explains the discrepancy between the reported figures and the repair work list.

A significant number of claims was also made by drivers in the previous financial year, with 1,229 claims made for the whole year amounting to £855,000 worth of claims.

So far, just £35,000 has been paid out from those claims.

Not every claim will result in a payout. For a claim against Devon County Council to be successful, drivers have to show that loss or damage was caused as a result of its negligence, meaning it is not automatically liable for damage caused to vehicles using roads it oversees.

On its website page about such claims, the authority states it has insurance, but “any successful claims under £250,000 have to be paid from our own funds which would otherwise go towards providing services.

“Devon County Council has a system of inspection in place that allows many of the insurance claims we receive to be defended,” it adds.

The damage claim figures come shortly after Devon announced more than 65 road repair projects that it would prioritise with the £6.6 million in extra funding it has received from central government.

The money became available after the government scrapped the Manchester extension to the HS2 rail service.

Devon has the largest road network of any local authority, spanning around 8,000 miles.