The council has paid out more than £100,000 for “pavement claims” over three years in Brighton and Hove.
The figure has fallen since 2018 even as criticisms of the current weed-infested state of the pavements have grown.
The sums revealed did not include the council’s own legal costs including the time spent by council staff dealing with claims and assessing the site of each incident.
And one councillor highlighted the human cost even though it was easier just to count the financial cost.
The latest revelations come a week after Brighton and Hove City Council said that it had dealt with 160 claims from 2018-19 to 2020-21, although only 13 so far have ended in a payout.
And since the spring of this year, the council has already received 31 claims, although none has resulted in a compensation payout yet.
Dozens of claims, however, remain to be settled, and the council has set aside money in case it ends up with a liability.
The 13 claims which led to a payout from 2018-19 to 2020-21 cost more than £111,000 – or just over £8,550 each on average.
The figures on pavement problems started to emerge after Conservative councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn asked a series of questions at the meeting of the full council last week.
Afterwards, Councillor Peltzer Dunn said: “The problem is miles worse than we thought. The council does not have a workable plan for keeping pavements in the city safe.”
He criticised the Green-led council for failing to come up with another way to maintain paths and pavements safely after sticking with the ban on “glyphosate” weedkiller brought in during Labour’s tenure in 2019.
Other councillors have said that weeds have left paths and pavements with surfaces that are dangerously uneven, especially where the growth has left cracked and broken surfaces.
The weeds are also more slippery than the paved or tarmac surfaces in the wet, leaving people at greater risk of slips and falls, especially during the coming autumn and winter months.
Locally, hundreds of people a year, mostly over 60, are treated for broken hip or thigh bones in local hospitals after a fall. Not all of them have tripped or fallen on uneven pavements.
The surgery and hospital treatment that follows costs tens of thousands of pounds in each case on average – and some younger victims also suffer a loss of earnings.
Councillor Peltzer Dunn said: “For every claim made for injuries caused by the state of the pavements, there are many more such accidents which go unreported yet are still painful and disturbing for many people particularly the elderly and visually impaired.”
And councils like Brighton and Hove have become more rigorous in defending claims in a field of law that has proved popular with “no win no fee” solicitors.
The figures for claims and payouts in Brighton and Hove have shown a decline over three years before rising in the year to date.
In 2018-19, the council received 60 claims, seven payments were made, totalling £98,305.81, and six claims are unresolved.
In 2019-20, the council received 55 claims, no payments were made, although seven claims are unresolved.
In 2020-21, the council received 45 claims, six payments were made, totalling £12,861.50, and 32 claims are unresolved.
The council said that it had received 31 claims so far in 2021-22, with no payments made, and added: “There are currently 37 claims open with outstanding reserves (money set aside).”
Councillor Peltzer Dunn said: “Pesticide use was banned in Brighton and Hove by the then Labour administration in November 2019 without a workable alternative plan to clear pavements of weeds manually.
“With statistics showing only six council workers are responsible for clearing the 975km of pavements, the council is struggling to cope.
“Claims against the council are running at record levels, with 31 claims being lodged in the year to date by residents who have been injured.”
Green councillor Amy Heley, who chairs the council’s Environment, Transport and Sustainable Committee, said: “Weed spraying has been replaced with six additional seasonal staff.
“On top of this, we have 160 street staff who clean the streets including detritus, leaves and weeds. Contractors also support the process.”
The council said that it was responsible for maintaining 975km or just over 600 miles of pavement but had weeded only 20 to 30 per cent – leaving about 450 miles untended.
Councillor Peltzer Dunn said: “The problem is miles worse than we thought. They have failed totally to address this major problem.
“It is vital for the administration to fully understand and accept that there is a duty of care to residents and visitors alike in the city.”
apart from the intrusive weeds, the tree roots bursting through the pavements create more trips and falls…. indeed, Cllr Dunn seems to be pointing that rather than the pretty Wild lettuce weeds Lactuca serriola which are native to the Mediterranean and are also referred to as prickly lettuce, China lettuce, horse or milk thistle, wild opium and compass plant in relation to the north-south vertical placement of its leaves – perpendicular to direct sunlight.
What ever has been done to replace weed spraying has not worked. Fix it Greens, fix it and get the pavements weeded somehow. Incompetence that puts people at risk – clear, even pavements is not a lot to ask of a council
On my – or, I should say, our – road in Hove, the paving stones are being removed and replaced with the black stuff. I find it depressing, all the more so in these times. That said, I spoke with a resident who pushes herself along with a mobility device, and she finds it much better. Which is good. Perhaps we could use a different colour for the stuff (as in Pall Mall)? Though I suspect it would kill off Argus readers if this were green.
Perhaps blame Tom Druitt and PAN for pushing through the herbicide ban without having a practical alternative, linked to your incompetent Greens ignoring maintenance, leading to the pavements breaking up.
What do you think they should use instead – block pavers, cobbles, or would you prefer Green tarmac so that we can’t see the weeds so well?
This blackstuff has been used by all Administrations, so I do not know why you are banging on about Tom Druitt. I simply proposed a more heartening colour.
Why not red, the cyclists already think that pavements are cycle lanes? The council could also then claim massive success in creating a cycle network
Because your beloved Green councillor friend was the main proponents pushing for the pesticide ban and getting councillors to agree to do it.
Rather than wittering about colours of tarmac to divert attention, we need to resolve the base issue that your party caused the problem of weeds causing trip hazards and got Labour to implement the total cessation of use of weedkillers without having, and still over 2 years later, not having a satisfactory alternative in place.
If you really want a different colour then perhaps red/brown to hide the blood stains that appear when an elderly person trips and injures themselves.
It was right to ban the use of cancer causing weed killers.No worker should have to be exposed to that daily in this day and age.
David
Brighton is not alone in this, but other councils are trialling and have just got on with it.
The issue is why the Greens are not using an alternative.
The Greens talk but do nothing and just let it become an unsightly mess.
Rather like the rubbish and recycling bins.
They blame anyone but their selves and hope it all goes away.
It is just appalling stewardship of the city from a bunch of amateurs.
We need adults back in the room.