Joy's Bank Information and Documentation

To enable me to properly review the council's decision, please provide the following information and documentation relating to Joy's Bank







1) Highway inspection records for this section of road for the 12 months preceding the incident







2) Details of the inspection frequency and road classification







3) Copies of any complaints, reports, or notifications received regarding this pothole prior to 22nd January 2026







4) Maintenance and repair records relating to this location







5) Any photographs, measurements, or assessment notes recorded by council officers or other parties







6) The council's intervention criteria for pothole repairs







7) The specific basis upon which liability has been denied

1) Please see attached site history report

2) Hierarchy 4 inspection frequency once per year

3) Please see attached site history report

4) Please see attached site history report

5) Please see attached site history report, there will be photos attached to most defects, jobs and customer enquiries. It is not practical to supply all of these if they identify specific items we can follow up with these.

6) Please see Highways infrastructure asset management plan (HIAMP)

7) The Council is the Highway Authority and therefore it has a duty to maintain Joy"s Bank, Gedney​​ in a safe condition.

The Council will rely on the statutory defence provided by Section 58 of the Highways Act 1980. This part of the Act provides the Council with a defence to claims if it can show that it has in place reasonable maintenance policies and inspection systems.  The Council contends that it has such policies and systems in place.

Each highway has been allocated to a particular hierarchy, which takes into account its nature, level of use and location.  Joy"s Bank, Gedney​​ has been designated a Hierarchy 4 carriageway. In accordance with the Council’s policy Hierarchy 4 carriageways are inspected once per annum.

Inspections are carried out by a Highways Officer in a slow moving vehicle. The last inspection prior to your incident was on 17/06/2025 and the Highways Inspector involved confirms that there were safety issues present at this time, however these were repaired prior to your incident in line with the HIAMP. The Council contends that the alleged defect was not present, or not present at a size that would have presented a danger, at the time of the inspection.

I am advised that there have been no other reported incidents or complaints regarding the specific defect in the period of 12 months prior to your incident.

In support of its denial of liability the County Council will rely upon the following documents which are listed below:

Highway Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (HIAMP), available here: Highways infrastructure asset management plan - Policies, strategies and plans – Lincolnshire County Council

Record of Safety Inspections for the last 12 months prior to your incident

The County Council may also rely on the relevant Code of Practice for Highway Maintenance Management. This is a public document and is not therefore enclosed.

Therefore, based on the above, I do not consider there is any legal liability for this accident and I must deny liability on behalf of the Council.  The highways inspection and maintenance records are available, on request, to support this decision.  I would advise that you are entitled to seek independent legal advice; therefore you may wish to contact a firm of solicitors to obtain their opinion and advice.

I appreciate that this may not be the response you were hoping for, should you wish to appeal, you will need to do this in writing, providing further evidence to substantiate your claim in negligence against the Council.