Gloucestershire County Council refused 98% of its 829 claims for pothole compensation between 2022 and 2023.

The council topped the list for compensation refusal rates among 18 councils out of 21 that responded to a Freedom of Information request by the RAC.

The RAC found that in Gloucestershire, total claims rose from 257 in 2022 to 829 in 2023.

Overall, pothole compensation claims submitted to 18 local authorities with the longest road networks in Britain more than doubled in the 12 months between 2022 and 2023 from 8,327 to 20,432.

The FoI request found that of the 18 councils that responded, Surrey County Council saw the biggest increase in claims, from 734 in 2022 to 3,418 in 2023.

Despite the huge rise in year-on-year claims, 17 councils paid out just 15% (3,131) of the 20,432 claims submitted by drivers in 2023.

The RAC estimates this equates to a total of around £824,000 paid out at an average of just £260 per claim. This is around 43% less than the amount drivers can expect to pay - up to around £460 - if their car needs to be fixed for anything more serious than a puncture, according to RAC garage data.

The numbers also show that as pothole damage claims have increased, the proportion of claims refused by councils has risen slowly too. Between 2021 to 2023, the average number of claims refused has risen by five percentage points, from 76% to 81%.

Councils refused seven-in-10 claims because they didn't know potholes were there

The RAC also asked councils how many claims for compensation they refused due to the authority saying it was not aware of the existence of the potholes in question, under Section 58 2d of the Highways Act 1980. Of the 8,172 compensation claims refused by the nine councils that provided data for this question, an overwhelming majority - 74% (6,028) - were refused on Section 58 grounds in total.5/6

Gloucestershire County Council stated that every single claim (100%) they refused was because they did not know that a particular pothole existed.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: "These findings are a stark reminder that the ongoing poor condition of many of the UK's local roads is burning holes in the budgets of both local authorities and drivers.

"While some councils appeared to prioritise paying legal fees over settling pothole claims, the cost in time and money of defending claims appears to far outweigh the expense of reimbursing drivers for the damage done to their vehicle in the first place. Even if a driver successfully pursued compensation, the average sum paid out of £260 is often well below the cost to fix a pothole-damaged car, for anything more serious than a punctured tyre.

"When it comes to the true extent of the problem, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg, as almost the same number of councils refused to tell us why they threw out pothole claims compared to those that did.

"We have long argued that local authorities need greater certainty of funding so they can tackle the root cause of the UK's pothole plague. For this reason, we're pleased they'll receive £500m to soon start the process of improving their road networks. 

"It's vital that this money is used by councils not to merely fill potholes, but to carry out preventative maintenance - through surface dressing roads at regular intervals to stop roads falling apart in the first place. Roads that are beyond reasonable repair should be resurfaced."

A Gloucestershire County Council spokesperson said: "All claims are reviewed in accordance with national guidelines when they are assessed. We don't have to use taxpayers' funds to pay out on many claims as we have a robust system of inspections and repairs in place. 

"We are also trialling innovative methods to improve road conditions. A spray injection patching machine and Roadmender machine have speeded up pothole repairs, plus Find and Fix teams have repaired 22,326 smaller potholes ahead of schedule before they got worse.

"We have over 30 teams out on the network every working day, working to improve the condition of our roads and have repaired 35,911 potholes this year.

"Potholes can develop quickly on roads, particularly in winter, so it is not possible for councils to inspect every road or repair every pothole immediately. Every day we are inspecting roads and fixing any potholes that are a safety concern either the next working day for critical ones or within 28 days."

"We are getting on with our extensive road resurfacing programme, part of our additional £100 million investment into the county's roads."

Anyone who spots an issue but hasn't yet reported it, should use the Fix My Street service at https://fixmystreet.gloucestershire.gov.uk/