£50k compensation bill to council due to damage to vehicles by Wrexham’s roads

Wrexham Council has paid out more than £51,000 in compensation claims to drivers who have sustained damage to their vehicle whilst travelling in the county borough.

Since 2015 the local authority has received 349 compensation claims from drivers, with £2,465 being the maximum single claim paid out over the four year period.

Of these claims 286 have been closed – with the remaining 63 still underway. A total of 125 were also defended by Wrexham Council.

In defending these claims, the local authority “must demonstrate that they have in place policies and procedures in relation to carrying out highway safety inspections.”

The figures have been published as part of an information report issued to councillors. It comes off the back of a recent meeting of the council’s homes and environment committee.

An annual breakdown of the claims since 2015 can be found below:

The “significant increase” in claims since 2017 is put down to an “increase in the number of defective highway reports received.”

The information report continues onto explain that such an increase “may be attributed to the impacts of significant and prolonged periods of harsh weather experienced over recent winters together with the increased national and local media profile concerning the condition of the road network across Wales and the UK.”

It adds: “The number of claims which the council has been able to successfully defend has reduced from 73% to 26% during the period with an overall average of 44% compared against a benchmarked average of 79%.

“This indicates that the council has further work to do with regard to improving the quality of the highways network to reduce the number of claims being received but also, where claims are submitted, enabling the council to defend them successfully by demonstrating compliance with the HSIP ( Highways Safety Inspection Policy) and retaining evidence to support this.”

Wrexham Council is responsible for 1,140km of carriageways across the county borough – of which 623 km are classified (A, B and C roads), 688 km are classified as being rural and 296 km are classified as urban unclassified.

Last month Wrexham.com reported that it is claimed  nearly £30 million is needed to bring Wrexham’s highways up to scratch.

Speaking at the time Wrexham Council’s chief officer for environment, Darren Williams explained that a total of £2.3 million is needed each year just to keep the status quo and maintain a steady state in the condition of the existing network.