DEAR News Of The Area,

I am a very unhappy resident of Coffs Harbour.

In April and through to May of this year, as we are all aware, there was a catastrophic amount of rainfall in the area.

It was so unusual and heavy that potholes in roads appeared everywhere and often.

As reported in NOTA’s opinion pages (June 2022) the poor state of the roads led to the closure of Stadium Drive, and not for the first time.

I travel on Hogbin Drive from Park Beach to Toormina twice a week to work.

On 14 April, I was driving on Hogbin Drive from Toormina back to Park Beach in extraordinarily heavy rain and watching intently the traffic in front of me.

Without any visual warning, my car lurched into a massive pothole.

The damage was severe.

Coffs Harbour City Council adamantly refuses to accept any responsibility.

Incredibly, Council said there were no other incidents “at that particular site” where other vehicles incurred the same, or similar, damage.

At that time, (and pothole repairs on Hogbin Drive are hugely evident today), there were potholes everywhere.

Council’s position is, apparently, if a resident sustains damage to their vehicle because of the poor state of our roads, Council is NOT liable unless the poor state of the road has been brought to their attention, prior to any incident occurring.

It’s impossible to imagine, given the conditions of the roads at the time, Council was not inundated with complaints to address the incredible number of potholes and correspondingly, claims for compensation of damages to vehicles.

Has anyone else experienced the same circumstances as me?

Regards,
Anne ATKINSON,
Coffs Harbour.