Hi,

Not sure this is the right forum to ask this question but here goes. Several months ago I was walking down Princess Street in Edinburgh. I fell down an uncovered drainage hole. My leg went down the hole upto just above my knee. The council repaired the defective hole cover and covered it up (for public safety) but insist that they are not responsible or liable for my injuries as the cover, despite being on the public footpath, was above a cellar owned by the property owner on Princess Street and told me that the company that owned this building was responsible. I wrote to this company and they state that the Council are responsible for the defect. I seem to be going round in circles can anyone advise?

Buzby would be favourite to respond to this one as he lives in Scotland.

Hello,

As the hole is directly over a cellar, there is a very good chance that the area of footway concerned is a Private Forecourt and is not maintained by the Highways Authority, in which case your only solution is too take out a small claims court against the property owner, as they will just pass it along to their insurance company.

I know that the council has denied responsibility, but I am a little bit suspicious as they undertook repairs, normally they would just make safe the area, and then get the land owner to carry out proper maintenance. By undertaking repairs they have taken on all future responsibility of the repair, and are therefore liable for any future claims, so you can see that Councils would normally avoid putting themselves in that legal position on private land.

I reccomend that you contact your local Highways Department and speak to one of the Highways Inspector, ask him if you can visit his offices to chat about the footway in question, and ask to see their own adopted highway maps. Also if they demonstrate that the area in question is private forecourt ask for this in writing, and also ask them about their liabilities of the repair work they have done, get this in writing too.

Secondly, if the area in question is a private forecourt, the council are not completely absolved of all responsibility, as the private forecourt will still be deemed a "Public Highway" which is different from a "Publically maintainable highway". But the council will still be a third party liable as they have a duty to inspect and report any defects found on the public highway. They will have a regular regime of inspections, for which you are entitled to a copy of the inspection reports.

To summarise you must get back to the council Highways and clarify the status of the land before pursuing the private land owner. Also you will need site photographs and a copy of the council's repair report.

If you want any further advice just ask.

Thanks Mr Government.

The footpath in question is the main Princess Street footpath in Edinburgh City Centre. The Council are currently speaking to the property owner over liability. The council have told me they have an inspection regeme and inspected the footpath the week before the incident.