£2k paid out for cars damaged by potholes
Less than £2000 has been shelled out by Stirling Council in the last two years in compensation for cars damaged by potholes, according to the latest figures.
The council paid out £1,622.35 in compensation between 2020 and January this year to drivers whose vehicles were damaged by road defects.
In 2020/2021 a total of £881.21 was handed out to motorists, with an additional £741.14 in the 2021/2022 year up to January 1.
The last two years have seen the lowest pay outs from the council in the last five years, as most residents across the region were lockdown due to the Covid pandemic over that time.
In 2020/2021, a total of 64 claims were received by the authority, with just four of those being settled with a financial payout.
In 2021/2022, 48 claims were received – seven of which had been successful up to January 1 this year.
The latest figures show a large decrease on the sums paid out prior to the Covid pandemic.
In 2019/2020, Stirling Council paid out £1993.69 to 13 motorists, from a total of 94 claims.
That was down from the year previously, with £4,730.88 paid to 18 drivers in 2018/2019.
An eye-watering £8,670.26 was coughed up in 2017/2018 to 37 drivers. That year a total of 121 claims were lodged with the council
The figures show that, since 2014, Stirling Council has stumped up £19,645.09. Over that period, a total of 519 claims were, of which 92 were successful. That equates to a successful claims rate of 17.7 per cent.
In the 2016/2017 fiscal year, a total of 20 claims were received, none of which were successful, meaning that no money was paid out in that year.
In January last year, we told how almost £5000 had been shelled out in compensation by Stirling Council in the previous 18 months. Between June 2018 and December 2020, the council had paid out £4700 in compensation to drivers. The figure was obtained by the Observer through a Freedom of Information request.
Over the same period, the council had received 166 claims from drivers, with 21 of those claims being successful.
In May 2018, the Observer revealed how, between 2007 and 2017, a total of £66,147.57 was paid to claimants.