PAYOUTS for pothole damage to vehicles make up almost all the successful compensation claims from Helensburgh and Lomond to Argyll and Bute Council, new data has revealed.

The local authority also paid out £60 to one person from the Helensburgh area after their jacket was damaged by wet paint on a bench.

But in total, only £3,354 has been claimed in compensation by Helensburgh and Lomond residents from the local authority since April 2019.

The Helensburgh and Lomond sum represents less than 14 per cent of the total claimed by disgruntled residents from across Argyll and Bute in the last five years.

In total, the council has dealt with £24,779 worth of compensation claims since the 2019/20 financial year, according to the figures returned for the request.

The Helensburgh and Lomond administrative area accounts for £3,354 of that figure.

Other data submitted to the LDRS shows that the highest single claim in Helensburgh and Lomond during the five-year period was £852.

This was claimed during the 2022/23 financial year for one of 13 instances of pothole damage to a vehicle.

Another claim for £321, for kerbstone damage to a vehicle, was also submitted to the council during the 2022/23 financial year.

A claim for £128 was made during the 2021/22 financial year for tyre damage sustained at Helensburgh’s Blackhill recycling centre.

The council’s environment, development and infrastructure committee heard in March of its roads capital reconstruction programme, which aims to improve the condition of roads throughout the area.

Executive director Kirsty Flanagan said in a report: “This council has approximately £122 million of backlog maintenance across the road network. This means that over £122m would need to be invested to bring the road network up to an ‘A1’ standard.

"Most councils are in a very similar position.

“During these challenging financial times, it is very unlikely we will benefit from the level of investment required to bring the road network up to an ‘A1’ condition.

“However, over the last decade there has been a carefully applied strategy of delivering revenue and capital funding collectively and delivering a series of works designed to minimise reactive work, carry out right first time repairs wherever possible and to deliver surfacing techniques and specifications, which maximises the amount of repairs and resurfacing which is delivered.

“As with almost all council services, there is insufficient funding available to treat all the sections of road that we would like to do, the focus being on treating sections where we can maximise the financial return and in so doing reduce the amount of reactive repairs carried out.

“However, the investment levels that the council has made over a number of years have made a positive impact on the council’s road condition.”