Kent county council

by POTWHOLED

11 Apr 2011

Broken front suspension spring VW polo £110.00 damage
KKC refused compensation. Requested FOIA and received.
Two letters sent , refused to pay. Used this site and wrote letter see below, 3 weeks later they paid out. Great website, thanks.
Top tip never give up !
Dear Sir / Madam
reference your reply dated XXth October 2010 I have applied for and received under the FOIA
the full reports concerning XXXXXX XXXXXX, XXXXX inspections.

Has any compensation had ever been paid for a pothole damage claim and if so on what basis can you claim Section 58 as statutory defence.

"Well Maintained Highways - Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management" recommends that such a road be inspected twice annually,
but advises that the frequency should change if weather conditions dictate. As you state in your reply during December / January the UK
experienced its worst wintry weather for nearly 30 years, Kent being particularly hard hit.

The defect noted on the 8th April states a pothole of 50/100 mm depth, this should surely have been prioritised as very urgent and as
such should have been repaired immediately thus avoiding the damage to my property. You will also note that my car at the time was
only just 6 years old with very low mileage. To break the front suspension spring would require a substantial impact !

I contest that the defence under s.58 of the Highways Act 1980 is not available to the council as you have clearly not been inspecting
the road as frequently as good practice would dictate under the circumstances.

Yours sincerely