A man who successfully used section 56 of the 1980 Highways Act to force a highway authority to repair its roads has urged others to do the same, rather than just moaning about potholes on social media.
A judge has ordered a council to fill potholes in three roads after a driver took legal action.
Derek Bennett said the roads in Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead were in “dire condition” and he has used highways legislation in a bid to force Hertfordshire County Council to fix them.
Judge Andrew Johnson made the order at St Albans Crown Court, after Bennett, a retired construction project manager, took action using section 56 of the 1980 Highways Act.
Council bosses have agreed to the order to mend the roads within 20 working days.
As far as I can see, successfully using this legislation is pretty rare and the council was said by the judge not to have responded to Bennett’s application in the “proper manner”.
Bennett told the BBC he hoped others would follow his example:
“The pothole situation in Britain has been described as a national disgrace,” he said.
“And rather than complaining on social media, or generally making a noise about it, we would be much better advised to simply submit the application under section 56, which is open and free of charge for anyone to do.”
He said applications could be dealt with by magistrates or crown court judges – depending on the progress of cases.
It can be done without a great deal of effort.
It’s the local authority, the county council, who have to make the effort in responding and repairing the roads.
Transport Insights 
Leave a comment