New data reveals shocking increase in pothole reports in Northampton while compensation payouts drop significantly

A freedom of information (FOI) request by this newspaper has revealed the stark contrast between the rising number of potholes reported in West Northants and the sharp drop in compensation payouts.

Chronicle and Echo submitted an FOI request to find out how many potholes were reported, how many were repaired, and the compensation paid out in the years since April 2021, when West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) was formed.

The yearly breakdown of data is as follows:

Reported Potholes Annually

2021: 9,044 potholes reported

2022: 2,479 potholes reported

2023: 18,266 potholes reported

2024 to date: 16,230 potholes reported

This nearly 200% increase in reported potholes points to significant deterioration of the roads. And it doesn’t appear to be improving as this year appears poised for even more increases in reported potholes.

Potholes Repaired Annually

2021: 16,879 potholes filled

2022: 9,462 potholes filled

2023: 14,077 potholes filled

2024 to date: 10,211 potholes filled

The figures for 2024 so far stand at 10,211, indicating that the council is still trying to keep up with demand for road repairs.

Compensation Payments

The council reported the following compensation payments for damages or injuries related to potholes:

2021/22: £19,271.53

2022/23: £2,409.21

2023/24: £3,019.00

2024/25: £0.00 (pending open claims)

Compensation payouts have sharply decreased from £19,271.53 in 2021/22 to just £3,019 in 2023/24, marking a decline of approximately 84 per cent. This suggests that while potholes remain a problem, fewer claims are being submitted and/or compensated.

Cost of Repairs

The exact costs for pothole repairs are not disclosed, as highway repairs are conducted under a monthly payment system, making individual repair costs difficult to determine. WNC allocates approximately £1 million annually to Kier for road maintenance under a seven-year contract that began in September 2022.

Reporting Changes

WNC’s process of reporting a pothole on its website requires the complainant to fill in a 10-page application form. This could potentially deter residents from reporting issues.

WNC response

Cllr Phil Larratt, WNC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “We know that the state of our roads is extremely important to our residents, and as a council, we are committed to doing everything we can to maintain and improve them. Since 2021, we have increased investment, carried out more repairs, and responded quicker to reports, and we will continue to explore ways to innovate and improve the way in which we maintain our roads in the years ahead.” Regarding the rise in pothole reports from 2,479 in 2022 to over 18,000 in 2023, Cllr Larratt said: "There may be several factors to explain this, including that during this period there was a change in contract from KierWSP to the Kier Contract, and different systems were used. The data was no longer available for access once the contract with Kier WSP had ended, so the figures included for 2022 are from 12 September to 31 December." On the overall budget allocated for road maintenance, Cllr Larratt provided the following figures: When asked if the process for reporting claims had changed, given its current length of 10 pages, Cllr Larratt said: “The process for reporting claims has not changed, and people can do so via our website. More complex and expensive claims may take a number of years to go through the system, so comparing years is not always reflective of the figures.”

Pothole expert, Mark Morrell of Brackley, who goes by the name of Mr. Pothole commented on the findings. He said: “West Northamptonshire Council, like many other Highways Authorities, face an impossible task to maintain their road network to an acceptable standard. They inherited a backlog of approximately £250-300m from the old Northamptonshire County Council at a time when funding levels have been cut for road maintenance by central government. This has resulted in, my view, the abuse of Section 58 of the Highways Act, where authorities can set their own intervention criteria and length of time to carry out repairs. In some cases up to 26 weeks, meaning if there's a claim in the meantime, they will reject it.”