The state of UK pavements is an ongoing concern, with reports indicating increased risks for pedestrians due to poor maintenance. In February this year, the Government announced plans to make £300 million available to help local authorities improve their footpaths and cycle paths in a bid to encourage more of us to get active.
It appears the investment is sorely needed. As long ago as 2018, the AA reported on the ‘shocking state’ of Britain’s pavements, with three-quarters of pedestrians having experienced uneven surfaces. Recent reports continue to highlight the deteriorating conditions of pavements, with an increase in pedestrian complaints and accidents. In other words, things don’t seem to be getting noticeably better.
For example, a BBC article from 2025 highlights the state of pavements in Wembley, North London, which are ‘riddled with cracks and holes’ and present an ‘immense’ safety risk.
The Guardian goes as far as claiming that Britain’s pavements are ‘ruin(ing) people’s lives’.
The article cites experiences of pedestrians with visual impairment, those over the age of 65, and wheelchair users, for whom leaving the house involves running the gauntlet of obstacles, uneven slabs, holes, and cracks.
Adding to the problem is the scourge of cars blocking pavements, commonly known as pavement parking. Little wonder some people choose to stay at home to ensure their safety.
Given the deteriorating condition of our pavements, it is not surprising that slip, trip, and fall accidents have become increasingly common.
Living Streets, a charity dedicated to promoting walking and creating better environments for pedestrians, suggests that there could be as many as a million pedestrian falls each year involving parents with pushchairs, young children and adults aged 65 and over.
Unlike road traffic accidents, there is no systematic collection of data on road users who suffer injury from falls on pavements. As a result, we have no way of knowing the true extent of the problem, but we can only assume it’s a sizeable problem.
Some slips, trips, and falls on pavements can be attributed to factors beyond anyone’s control. Others can be put down to the local authority’s failure to maintain and repair the pavements for which they are responsible. According to the East London Times, Lewisham Council has paid out £495,704 to people who’ve suffered personal injury due to slip, trip and falls caused by the state of the local pavements and roads.
Why are our pavements becoming more dangerous?
A review of the relevant data and press coverage on the topic of the state of our pavements reveals a few main reasons why they are becoming more dangerous:
- Lack of funds
As you might expect, budget cuts are the main culprit for the disrepair of our pavements and footpaths. According to a report in the Guardian in February this year, almost half of councils in England could face bankruptcy due to a deficit of some £4.6 billion.
Adding the cost of addressing the problems with our nation’s footpaths makes the issue even more apparent. An assessment of Britain’s footpaths undertaken on behalf of the Department for Transport between 2019 and 2021 indicated that the total cost of fixing them would likely be in the region of £1.695 billion. For cash-strapped councils, finding the funds to do the job would appear an impossible task.
- The rising cost of social care
Faced with budget cuts, councils are having to concentrate on areas deemed to be in the most urgent need of funding.
Sky News analysis explains how local authorities are now spending almost £4 billion more on social care than they were a decade ago, partly due to our ageing population and because responsibility for some aspects of social care has passed from our struggling NHS to local authorities.
Councils in Nottingham, Cheshire, and Staffordshire spent over three-quarters of their budget on social care in 2021-2022, leaving very little to go around for all their other services. As a result, local authorities have been forced to cut spending in different areas, including bin collections, street lighting, and pavement maintenance.
- Weather conditions
We blame the Great British weather for a whole host of problems. The state of our footpaths can now be added to the list.
In winter, our repeated ‘freeze then thaw then freeze’ cycles cause cracks in the pavements, as water enters, freezes, and expands. Over time, these cracks can develop into potholes and cause raised slabs, two of the major causes of pavement accidents.
In summer, hot weather softens the materials used in making some pavements, causing surface deformation and cracks. Thermal expansion can also cause rigid materials, like concrete, to buckle.
Is there any more government funding for pavement repairs on the horizon?
Both the UK and Welsh governments have recently pledged extra funding to improve walking routes and tackle poor pavement conditions.
In England, this includes part of a £1.6 billion roads package and £300 million for new walking and cycling routes.
In Wales, over £120 million has been committed to transport upgrades, with a focus on resurfacing damaged pavements and improving pedestrian crossings.
On the face of it, this has to be good news. However, it is hard to estimate how much money in both countries will be put explicitly towards mending pavements, and when. Whilst there’s no reason to doubt that both governments are pledging these amounts in good faith, how long it will be before results are seen ‘on the ground’ is anyone’s guess.
When is the council liable for a pavement accident?
While you may think it should be straightforward to hold local authorities accountable for accidents caused by pavement defects, in reality, the legal process is often more complex.
Local authorities have a legal duty to repair and maintain the pavements for which they are responsible. However, that duty is not absolute. For one thing, a pavement defect must measure at least 2.5 cm deep for a personal injury claim to have any chance of success.
Furthermore, local authorities aren’t expected to know about every defect on the pavements they are tasked with maintaining. Their duty is to regularly inspect their pavements for defects and repair any that pose a danger to pedestrians. If they cannot fix a particular defect immediately, they must make the area as safe as possible until they can.
For example, they might close the footpath or position warning signs around the defect until they have had a chance to carry out the necessary repairs.
How regularly a local authority should inspect its pavements depends on several factors. How quickly they should repair any defects depends on:
- How bad the defect is
- The extent of footfall in the area.
Given that a local authority’s legal responsibility for maintaining and repairing pavements is phrased in such vague terms, it’s not unusual for their legal teams to initially flatly deny their liability for any pavement accident claims they receive.
Can you make a claim if you suffer injury in a pavement accident?
Don’t let this put you off claiming. You should still pursue compensation for the injuries you suffered as a result of a pavement accident. We are not saying every injury claim of this nature brought against a local authority will succeed – it won’t. However, not every claim where the council initially denies liability will fail, either. Mooneerams have won hundreds of pavement accident claims for clients on a No Win No Fee basis.
At Mooneerams, our personal injury solicitors are experts in the field of pavement injury claims. They have an excellent track record of holding local authorities to account for their failings and securing excellent settlements for our clients.
