Welsh Councils have seen a staggering rise in the number of pothole damage compensation claims lodged against them in the last three years, forking out thousands in settlement payments.
As Britain’s ‘pothole crisis’ hits record levels, As Britain’s ‘pothole crisis’ hits record levels, an investigation by Accident Claims Advice has revealed claims against Councils in Wales have risen by 79 per cent since 2022.
In the last three years, 19 local authorities across Wales (86%) have paid out a combined total of £540,275 in compensation for pothole damage claims.
The 19 out of 22 Welsh Councils that responded to a Freedom of Information request within the deadline reported a total of 3,939 potholes in need of repair at the beginning of the year (January 2025).
Ceredigion County Council reported the highest number of unfixed craters, standing at 544 in January. It was followed by 447 outstanding potholes reported by Pembrokeshire Council and a further 442 logged by Swansea Council.
New data has found that Welsh Councils have had 3,083 legal claims lodged against them for pothole damage in the last three years, with the figure increasing from 635 in 2022 to 1,138 last year.
But of those, just 16 per cent of claims lodged were settled with compensation.
In fact, the amount of compensation paid for pothole damage cases has decreased year on year, despite the rise in claims.
In 2022, Welsh Councils paid out a total of £219,236 settling 122 pothole claims. The following year, 226 were settled to the tune of £181,335.
Last year, 2024, local authorities settled 147 claims with compensation payouts amounting to £140,022.
Swansea Council had 328 claims between 2022 and 2024, but paid out on just 11 at a total cost of £1,999.29. The council recently announced plans for a £20m investment in its road network, including resurfacing major routes in the city and says it its highways maintenance teams repaired more than 5,000 potholes and resurfaced 13km of main road in the last financial year.
Pembrokeshire Council paid out £2,546.29 over the same period on just 4 claims out of the 107 made against the council. Bridgend paid out £3,125.60 on 24 claims out of 161 made, with Neath Port Talbot paying slightly more – £3,357 on 16 claims out of 102.
The top 3 pothole damage compensation councils were Powys with £74,081 paid on 28 claims out of 276, Cardiff Council who paid £82,766.86 on 81 claims out of 367 made.
The highest amount was paid out by Wrexham Council with an eye-watering £274,573.28 paid on 76 claims out of 212 made.
Carmarthenshire Council did not respond with data to the freedom of information request.
ACA’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.”
Recently, the Welsh Government announced that local authorities will soon be able to access up to £120m to repair more local roads over the next two years.
The Welsh Government’s Final Budget 2025-26 set out the new plans for the borrowing initiative which will provide an extra £10m of revenue funding to local councils to enable them to unlock an additional £120m of capital funding to accelerate the process of fixing roads and pavements.
It follows the UK’s Treasury announcement in the Budget in October last year, which promised that total local road maintenance funding in 2025/26 would be nearly £1.6bn, representing a £500m uplift compared with the previous 12 months.
Prime Minister, Kier Starmer said in December: “Broken roads can risk lives and cost families hundreds if not thousands of pounds on repairs. That’s a cost that can easily be avoided by investing properly in our roads.
“That’s why we’re giving councils funding to repair our roads and get Britain moving again – with a clear expectation that they get on with the job.”
(Lead image: Swansea Bay News)
