Oxfordshire pothole-related compensation payouts nearly triple in a year

Bethan Nimmo & Nathan Briant - BBC South
·2 min read
A pothole
The county council said the number of pothole reports had doubled in the past financial year [BBC]

Pothole-related compensation paid out by a council has nearly tripled in the past financial year, figures show.

Oxfordshire County Council said it spent £230,248 on 514 claims during 2023/24, in comparison to £86,246 on 310 claims the year before.

The authority blamed "perfect pothole-forming weather conditions" but said £7m of work would improve some of its roads.

A campaigner said many councils face massive maintenance issues.

The county council maintains all of the roads in Oxfordshire, other than in Oxford, where the city council is in charge.

Mark Morrell
Mark Morrell, also known as Mr Pothole, said extensive work was needed [BBC]

It said during 2023/24, the number of reports from the public doubled, caused by a "prolonged freeze-thaw over winter, followed by a protracted period of wet weather".

But it hoped a surface dressing programme, the biggest of its kind in the county for 20 years, should improve the situation.

Mark Morrell, also known as campaigner Mr Pothole, said many roads needed "proper, full-depth resurfacing".

"The whole of our infrastructure has been neglected because of funding issues and it's been an easier place to cut because the pressure's on councils," he said.

"We've got an ageing network - the top wearing surface lasts about 20 years. Most of ours are 70 years old so it doesn't take a lot of working out to see why the roads are failing so fast."

The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance (ALARM) survey report, released by the Asphalt Industry Alliance last month, found work worth £16.3bn was needed to tackle the maintenance backlog on roads in England and Wales.

Glenn Thomson
Glenn Thomson plans to claim compensation from Oxfordshire County Council [BBC]

Glenn Thomson, a car enthusiast from Banbury, said his vehicle needs repairs which could top £3,800 after repeatedly hitting potholes over recent months and plans to claim compensation from the county council.

"The roads are terrible - and not just in Oxfordshire. I go to lots of car shows and it's exactly the same everywhere else," he said.

"It's that bad that my girlfriend has bought me a sticker saying 'I'm not drunk, I'm avoiding potholes.'"

The Department for Transport said the county council would receive an extra £82.3m for maintenance over the next decade.

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