Fife Council paid more than £11,000 in pothole claims made by two cyclists.
The £11,704 payouts formed more than a third of the £30,243 the local authority spent on pothole compensation claims from cyclists and motorists in 2023/24.
The council’s biggest pothole compensation bill in the past six years was £35,155 in 2020/21 – the same year It paid £13,088 in a claim made by one cyclist.
Figures for pothole compensation payments made by councils in Fife, Angus, Dundee, and Perth and Kinross since 2019 were revealed from a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by the Scottish Conservatives.
Fife Council – Almost £100k spent since 2018
The FOI figures revealed that Fife Council paid out £94,392.89 to 267 drivers between 2018-19 and the end of 2024.
This includes compensation to 13 motorists to date in 2024-25.
Fife Council told The Courier it has spent £9.8m on fixing the region’s roads since April 2024.
This was projected to rise to £10.9m by the end of the financial year, with £3.5m of this going towards making “our roads better”.
Councillor Altany Craik, the council’s roads spokesperson, said: “There’s over 2,500km of roads in Fife which we maintain and keep in a safe condition.
“We understand and share the frustration of Fife’s road users, who might be delayed by roadworks.
“We work hard all year round to improve our road network, not just by repairing defects, but with wider infrastructure projects to support the future expansion and economic growth of the area.
“Across the council our budgets continue to be challenged and we have to allocate our resources carefully.”
Angus Council – ‘Tell us about your potholes’
Angus Council has paid out at least £10,072.44 to drivers and £2,670 to cyclists since 2019.
This included £1,565.60 in compensation in 2024.
Between 2018 and 2024, 46 motorists received compensation for claims relating to potholes – including eight motorists in 2024.
These figures are applicable up to November 26, 2024.
Angus Council told The Courier that it “meets” the first £250 of each successful claim that is made in relation to potholes on the 1,130 miles of road in the region.
A spokesperson said: “As part of our risk-based policy, Angus Council will inspect, assess and repair the potholes on the area’s extensive road network throughout the year.
“This includes any potholes identified by our roads staff and any reported to us by the public at any location.
“We encourage people to tell us about potholes and other road issues to us via our online reporting system.”
Dundee City Council – Major rise in payouts last year
Meanwhile, Dundee City Council paid out £4,004.12 in compensation relating to potholes to 15 motorists between 2019 and November 26, 2024.
This included at least £2,426.61 to 12 motorists last year alone.
The local authority reported that no cyclists had received compensation during this time.
Dundee City Council has been approached for comment.
Perth and Kinross Council – £17,500 compensation for cyclists in one year
According to the figures, Perth and Kinross Council paid out £17,500 in compensation to cyclists between 2019 and 2024.
All of these compensation claim payments were made in 2021.
Less than three cyclists received compensation that year, with the council not specifying the exact figure.
The local authority also paid £36,050.30 in compensation to 106 drivers during this time.
This includes £1,002.32 in compensation to four motorists in 2024.
Additionally, the council spent £11,979.90 in legal costs dealing with pothole compensation claims.
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “We understand the frustrations these cause motorists and (we) want to repair potholes as quickly and efficiently as possible.
“Since 2020 we have placed greater emphasis on first-time permanent repairs using both Tayside Contracts and external contractors.
“This means the repair lasts for longer and so reduces the risk to road users.
“Potholes can be reported to us through the MyPKC website.”
Council roads ‘plagued’ by potholes
In January 2024 a separate FOI revealed that Angus road users were the least likely in Scotland to receive compensation relating to potholes.
The Scottish Conservatives have hit out at the new figures.
Liam Kerr, Conservative MSP for North East Scotland said: “Council-maintained country roads are often the only way to get around the community in rural parts of Scotland.
“But these tend to be plagued by safety problems, constant roadworks and diversions, and issues seem to get worse every year.”
“At a time when we are trying to encourage more people to use bikes instead of cars, the state of our roads turns so many people off.
“I urge the Scottish Government to reverse years of underfunding for councils, so they can head off all these accidents with comprehensive road repairs, which last beyond the next bit of snow or rain.
“All that money paid out to road users would have been better spent on repairing potholes in the first place.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is up to individual local authorities to manage their day-to-day decision-making.
“And allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.
“The Scottish Government has made over £14 billion available to local councils this year, with a record £15 billion for 2025/26 set out in the draft Scottish budget.”
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