Resident injured by broken manhole cover sparks councillor’s criticism of Havering Council.

A Conservative Councillor and Candidate have criticised Havering Council’s laissez-faire attitude to the safety of manhole covers on its pavements.  

Councillor Judith Holt and Mr Martin Firmstone (St. Alban’s Ward) have spoken up after one of their residents tripped over the edge of a manhole cover jutting up over two inches on St. Edwards Way near the RUSSC Club, Romford, nearly two years ago.

The resident suffered serious injuries to the head, face, shoulder, elbow, wrist and leg, the result of which they were unable to work for several weeks and needed help at home. They reported the accident via a Highway Incident Report Form, to which Havering Council didn’t respond and had to be chased. The resident was then informed by the Council’s insurance company that the jutting manhole cover was “not deemed to be an actionable defect as it did not protrude enough to be considered a hazard” and that Havering Council had “a reasonable system in place for inspection, maintenance and repairs” of roads and pavements.

“As a Ward Councillor, I know full well that the state of many pavements in Havering Council is little short of atrocious,” said Councillor Holt. “Trying to get repairs done often takes months. We have seen plenty of other uneven manhole covers. All Havering Council have done here is to make excuses and pass the buck.”

“We accept that the safety of the manhole covers is the responsibility of the utility concerned, “added Mr Firmstone. “However, rather than an ‘ it’s not our problem’ attitude, surely Havering Council should be checking reports of protruding covers, then contacting the utility company? They say they do, but obviously not in this St. Edwards Way case, despite knowing about it for almost two years.”

 “The safety of its residents should be Havering Council’s priority. Just to tell the resident to seek independent legal advice if they are dissatisfied with the Council’s response shows a complete lack of sympathy.”

In response, Councillor Barry Mugglestone, Havering’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

“We’re sorry to hear about the incident and hope the resident is making a good recovery.

“When considering legal liability our Insurers will have regards to decisions made by the courts in matters such as this.”

“We inspect all our roads and pavements in the borough to ensure they are safe and serviceable.

“We have a published highway maintenance policy that our trained inspectors use as a guide, when undertaking their inspections. 

“When defects are the responsibility of others, like utility companies, we refer these reports to them. 

“We do this to ensure we discharge our legal duties of maintaining the highways, but also to make sure our limited resources are spent in the areas needed most.”

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