A HELENSBURGH councillor has voiced concern over the amount of compensation Argyll and Bute Council has paid out over the past three years for pothole damaged vehicles.

Councillor Graham Hardie (Liberal Democrat, Helensburgh Central)) explained that, while he is pleased the number of claims remains below the national average, he is wary about the level of compensation paid out - £10,000 over the past three years.

The Advertiser previously reported that new figures show the number of claims Argyll and Bute Council has received for pothole damaged vehicles has more than halved since 2019.

However, the data, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through a Freedom of Information request, shows that despite the decrease in the number of claims, the council remains well above the national average for the number of claims it pays out.

Cllr Hardie said: “I am pleased to hear the number of claims remains below the national average but I am concerned that the compensation paid out is much higher than other council areas.

“I have not received any recent complaints about potholes but I think the council has to invest further in pothole management.

“The money could be diverted elsewhere within the council and made better use of, especially in the current tight financial climate within the council budget due to under funding from the Scottish Government in the last ten years.”

In the past three years, the council has received 110 claims, with 43 resulting in a pay out (39 per cent).

The number of claims that have been paid out has declined since 2019, but there was a small rise in the number last year.

In 2019-20, 42 per cent of claims made to the council were paid out, decreasing to 35 per cent between 2020-21 before rising slightly to 37.5 per cent in 2021-22.

The national average of claims paid out during 2021-22 was 15.76 per cent.

The total compensation paid out over the past three years totals £10,000. That’s higher than in neighbouring Stirling and over five times the total in West Dunbartonshire.

Councillor Fiona Howard (Labour, Helensburgh Central) said: “This is a real good news/bad news situation. Complaints halved but compensation claims paid out are abnormally high, which is the result of extensive work on our network of roads to repair historic neglect and to bring them back up to standard.

“This will be a long process and there is no quick fix but the good news shows that the work undertaken has been effective and things, as the song said, can only get better.”

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesperson said: “Our roads team continue to work hard to maintain the network that stretches 1,400 miles across Argyll and Bute.

“We have invested £9 million in this financial year into a roads improvement programme to slow down the rate of decline and provide overall improvement to road conditions.

“Due to this investment, our roads continue to improve year on year, bringing benefits to communities, visitors and the local economy.”