Potholes costing SMEs hundreds of pounds in damages each year

A new survey has revealed the cost of potholes on SMEs, with nearly half of smaller firms saying they’ve been impacted by them.

Forty-seven per cent of SMEs say that over the last 12 months, potholes have:

• caused damage to their work vehicles
• created situations where they can’t get to customers
• caused them to miss meetings and appointments
• caused them to be involved in road accidents

The survey, carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), also looked at the cost of pothole damage for smaller firms and found that in the last year:

• 37% had spent over £100
• 24% had spent over £300
• 13% had spent over £500

While an additional £500 million was pledged at the Budget to fix roads over the next year, the FSB is urging the government to not let this money get absorbed into wider transportation or general funding pots.

It’s also calling for a national pothole damage compensation claim form template to be introduced and properly advertised by all local authorities, guaranteeing a fast and simple claim process that links directly with a national pothole reporting app – many small businesses are unaware that it’s their right to claim this money back, and local authorities should be forthcoming in helping those affected.

Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Policy Chair Tina McKenzie, said, “Potholes are a major blight on our roads and as our new research clearly shows they are causing untold misery to small business owners across the country, resulting in major financial and reliability issues.

“One business owner we spoke to has been forced to pay out for three new tyres in the space of 12 months. Another who provides healthcare workers to care homes and hospitals regularly gets calls from staff saying they can’t get to their shift due to pothole damage, impacting both her business and her clients’ staffing levels.

“Small businesses are currently under the cosh with increasing costs across the board. Having to pay out to fix costly damage from a vehicle or dealing with other disruption is the last thing they need.

“We were pleased that additional funds have been promised by the government at the Budget – we now need to see this plague of potholes being fixed rapidly and efficiently, resulting in a major improvement in our roads.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.