£50,000 Council bill for pavement trip compensation

Latest figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats show that Bedford Borough Council paid out nearly £50,000 in three years in compensation to people who tripped on pavements. The large figure represents only a fraction of the overall compensation bill for local taxpayers, as it does not include payments made by the former County Council. The County Council was responsible for maintaining most heavily-used pavements, and the Borough Council's bill could rocket after it took on responsibility for these in April this year. County councils and unitary authorities have paid out an average of nearly £1m each in compensation for pavement trips in the last five years.

The vast backlog of repair and maintenance work for roads and paths which built up under the Conservative County Council has raised fears that the impact on Bedford Borough taxpayers could be even greater than in other areas. Liberal Democrats put an extra £1 million in the first budget of the unitary Bedford Borough Council to help tackle the backlog, and Group Leader Cllr Dave Hodgson commented: "We have campaigned for years for safer roads and pavements, and these figures show how important this battle is in financial terms as well as public safety. With household budgets stretched, the last thing local taxpayers need is to be paying large compensation claims due to dangerous pavements.'

"Years of chronic underinvestment by the Conservative County Council has left our pavements crumbling and unsafe and local taxpayers out of pocket due to the compensation bill. This money could have been spent on improving pavements and making them safer for local residents in the first place. The extra £1 million that we put into the first Unitary Bedford Borough Council budget signalled the start of the fight back against the Tories' massive backlog of repairs. We will continue to fight the Conservatives' legacy of crumbling, unsafe pavements."