Surrey’s legal claims toll set to double

25 October 2007

Legal claims against Surrey County Council’s highways department are likely to more than double this year, due to poor road maintenance.

The authority had 518 public liability claims from motorists complaining about damage to their cars in 2006, which they say was caused by potholes and poor maintenance on roads the council is responsible for, according to council figures.

In 2007, to date, this has already jumped to 954 claims being lodged for the same reason. Many of the claims will be paid out, but most are being contested or investigated.

Lib Dem councillor, Sarah Di Caprio, said the poor state of the roads was the biggest single issue being raised by her constituents.

‘More and more people have been contacting me about damage done to their cars on Surrey’s roads, particularly the roads in and around Guildford. Sadly, when complaints are being made, they are not being responded to quickly enough.’
Di Caprio did not blame highways officers for the problem, as she was aware of the funding issues highways suffered from. ‘But, there seems to be complacency in believing things are getting better with the roads. With the number of liability claims set to double this year, that would seem to strongly suggest they are not.’

Lester Willmington, chairman of the County Surveyors’ Society and Technical Advisors Group’s highway management working group, said the Surrey situation was not reflected nationally.

‘After speaking with colleagues in CSS/TAG, it appears that the Surrey position is not the norm. While there might be some increases, they are modest and reflect the fluctuations to be expected year on year,’ he said.

‘The prolonged period of mild and wet weather must have seen an increase in potholes, but highway authorities will have responded through inspection regimes and repaired safety defects as they have been identified.’

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Surrey’s legal claims toll set to double

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