Cardiff Council Faces High Costs for Highway Defects
Over the past four years, Cardiff Council has incurred significant expenses settling insurance claims related to highway defects, paying out over £435,000. While the overall number of property damage and personal injury claims has decreased, a recent freedom of information request has shed light on the substantial costs borne by the council.
The request, submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, unveiled the statistics on third-party insurance claims filed against the council. It revealed that the largest individual payout over the past four years for highway defects amounted to £20,000.
According to the council’s response, compensation totaling £435,462 has been disbursed between January 2019 and May 2023 due to highway defects. The figures indicate a downward trend in payouts each year since 2019. However, during the Covid-19 pandemic period from 2020 to 2021, there was a deviation from this pattern, with the council’s payments increasing from £86,714 to £115,564.
The total number of claims received by the council related to highway defects decreased from 373 to 155 between January 2019 and May 2023. During an environmental scrutiny committee meeting last month, Cardiff Council disclosed that its highways team was facing heightened demand for services and increased costs.
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These findings follow the recent revelation that Cardiff Council faces a daunting task in maintaining the city’s roads and pavements amid substantial budgetary constraints and growing service demands. A spokesperson for the council highlighted the national backlog of road repairs amounting to approximately £12 billion in the UK. The council assured that it conducts regular inspections of the highway network in compliance with relevant legislation and codes of practice.
Additionally, the council must address a £24 million budget gap. A report released ahead of a meeting on May 11 emphasized that there is likely to be a reduction in repairs and improvements, potentially resulting in an increase in third-party insurance claims and declining customer satisfaction. The highways team also faces challenges from external factors such as traffic growth and changing environmental conditions.
The council spokesperson further explained that available resources are utilized effectively through a range of road works, including reconstruction, resurfacing, surface patching, and temporary pothole repairs. Potholes are temporarily addressed until long-term solutions, such as extensive patching or resurfacing, can be implemented.