Birmingham City Council paid out £30,103.91 in compensation to motorists for pothole damage over the past 12 months, new figures reveal. The local authority received 499 separate claims from drivers for vehicle damage caused by cratered roads since August 2025, following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by BirminghamLive.
The council did not disclose how many claims were successful, but confirmed the total compensation paid. The data also showed that Tamworth Road in Sutton Coldfield currently holds the highest number of individual damage claims of any single street across the city.
Tamworth Road leads in claims
Tamworth Road in Sutton Coldfield has emerged as the street with the most pothole damage claims in Birmingham. However, Birmingham City Council cautioned: "We do not have the complete data relating to individual streets as claims are still being processed."
This means the full picture of which roads are worst affected may change as outstanding claims are resolved.
National surge in pothole claims
The number of pothole compensation claims to local authorities across the country has rocketed in recent years. According to the RAC, claims submitted to 18 local authorities with the longest road networks more than doubled in 12 months between 2022 and 2023.
Birmingham City Council did not feature on that list, but the RAC's head of policy Simon Williams commented: "These findings are a stark reminder that the ongoing poor condition of many of the UK’s local roads is burning holes in the budgets of both local authorities and drivers."
Cost of defending claims
Williams added that while some councils appeared to prioritise paying legal fees over settling pothole claims, the cost in time and money of defending claims appears to far outweigh the expense of reimbursing drivers for the damage done to their vehicle in the first place.
He noted: "Even if a driver successfully pursued compensation, the average sum paid out of £260 is often well below the cost to fix a pothole-damaged car, for anything more serious than a punctured tyre."
The figures highlight the ongoing financial impact of road conditions on both local authorities and motorists, with Birmingham's compensation payments adding to the national trend.
