Potholes, Public Safety and Your Legal Right to Force Repairs

Serious Injury Solicitor and cycling specialist, Nadia Kerr, is calling for road users to formally challenge local authorities to improve the condition of our cycle lanes and highways.  

Nadia has represented hundreds of vulnerable road users; such as cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians, and is committed to advocating for justice, client rights and for their well-being.   

She is keen to highlight a key piece of government legislation which gives road users the right to push local authorities to act. Something which may not be widely known.  

The growing risk of potholes and their impact on the public 

Across England and Wales, potholes are no longer just a nuisance, they’re a growing safety risk. From damaged vehicles to serious cycling accidents, the impact of poor road conditions is real, and according to the RAC, it’s getting worse. 

Nadia has also seen the extent of the damage on cyclists:  

“Potholes are often dismissed as a minor inconvenience, but for cyclists they can be life-changing. A defect in the road surface can throw a rider off balance in an instant, leading to serious injuries with long-term consequences. Too often, these hazards are left unaddressed until harm has already been done. That’s why mechanisms like Section 56 are so important, they give cyclists and other road users a way to hold authorities to account and push for repairs before more cyclists are put at risk.” 

Most people report defects and hope for the best. 

But what if you could go a step further-and legally compel action? 

That’s where Section 56 of the Highways Act 1980 comes in. 

What is Section 56 – and why does it matter? 

Section 56 of the Highways Act 1980 gives members of the public a powerful legal right. 

If a road, footpath, or bridleway is “out of repair”, you can formally challenge the local authority responsible and ultimately force them to act. 

This isn’t just another complaint process. It’s a legal mechanism. 

It means: 

• You’re not asking- you’re holding the authority accountable  

• There are clear timelines for response and repair  

• If ignored, you can escalate to court action  

How the process works (in simple terms) 

Using Section 56 follows a structured legal process:

1. Serve a formal notice

You notify the local authority that a highway is out of repair. We’ve included a template later in this article 

2. Wait for their response

They must respond within one month, confirming: 

• Whether it is a highway  

• Whether they are responsible  

• Whether it is publicly maintainable  

• Whether they agree it is out of repair  

• Whether they will fix it and also when 

3. Escalate if necessary

If repairs aren’t carried out within a reasonable timeframe (typically up to six months), you can apply to the Magistrates’ Court to force the repair. 

What counts as “out of repair”? 

There’s no single definition written in the law, but it’s shaped by case law. 

In practical terms, it means: 

• Surface defects that pose a real risk to users  

• Conditions that fall below what is reasonably safe  

• Hazards like potholes, failed surfaces, or dangerous deterioration  

This is about safety not cosmetic issues.

How to gather strong evidence for a credible legal challenge 

If you’re going to use Section 56, do it properly. Weak evidence weakens your position. 

Make sure you collect: 

• Clear photographs of the defect  

• Exact location (tools like What3Words are ideal)  

• Measurements (depth, width, length)  

• History of complaints (if known)  

This is what turns a complaint into a credible legal challenge.

How to find the right authority  

Section 56 only applies to highways maintained at public expense. 

You’ll need to: 

• Identify the correct local authority  

• Confirm they are responsible for that stretch of road or path  

You can do this via: 

• GOV.UK council finder tools

How to structure your initial enquiry 

Before serving the formal notice, it’s good practice to send an initial enquiry. 

Here’s the structure you could use to help you build this out:

To whom it may concern, 

Re: Defect located at [INSERT LOCATION] 

I wish to report a defect located at [INSERT LOCATION]. It is dangerous and liable to cause injury, damage and loss to users of the road/pavement/path. 

Please see Notice pursuant to Section 56 Highways Act 1980 attached. 

Please confirm: 

• that the stretch complained of is a highway  

• that you are responsible for the route  

• that the route is a highway maintainable at the public expense  

• that you agree that the highway is out of repair  

• that you will repair the route  

• when the repair will be done  

I await hearing from you. 

Yours faithfully

Download our ready-to-use Section 56 Notice template

Why this matters now 

There’s a much bigger story behind all of this.  

Local authorities are facing unprecedented financial strain, yet they’re still legally required to keep highways in a reasonably safe condition. That gap between obligation and available funding is widening – and Section 56 sits right at the centre of that tension. 

Campaigners such as Mr Pothole UK have highlighted what could happen if the public begins using Section 56 on a large scale. The potential knock‑on effects include: 

• Councils being pushed into unplanned, reactive spending 

• More frequent road closures or traffic restrictions 

• Short‑term patching becoming the norm instead of proper resurfacing 

In other words, the system is already under pressure and it’s starting to show. 

Could this trigger real change? 

If Section 56 becomes widely used, it could act as a catalyst. It forces uncomfortable but necessary questions to the surface: 

• What standard should our roads be maintained to? 

• Who should ultimately pay for that upkeep? 

• Can the current approach realistically continue? 

From there, only a handful of outcomes seem plausible: 

• Changes to the law – Government could choose to amend or scale back Section 56 to reduce legal exposure for councils. This would ease operational pressure but would likely be criticised as weakening public accountability for road safety. 

• More decline managed through risk‑mitigation – Councils continue as they are, relying on signage, inspections, and legal defences to navigate their responsibilities. This is effectively the current path, but it becomes harder to sustain if legal challenges increase. 

• Greater long‑term investment – The most positive scenario would be a commitment to proper long terms funding for the maintenance of the road network. Given the substantial revenue generated from road users, there’s a strong case for reinvesting more of it into infrastructure. 

Only one of these options genuinely improves safety and more reliable roads. 

In summary, it is important to not just report but to take action 

If you’ve reported a pothole and nothing has changed, just doing the same thing again might not fix it. 

Section 56 gives you a different option arguably one that carries more weight. 

Used properly, it can: 

• Push authorities to act  

• Improve safety for others  

• Contribute to wider change  

But it requires effort, structure, and the right approach. 

That’s why we’ve created a simple template to help you get started which you can download above) 

It is really important that we have a mechanism to try and provide better infrastructure for cyclists and other road users. As a team of specialist cycling lawyers, we see the issues and injuries which people suffer from through potholes and other road defects.   

For more information about Nadia Kerr and the work she has done to improve conditions for road users, see her profile here.