Pothole is Hazard for bicyclists - Who would compensate?

The council’s response (ENQ23980693) to FixMyStreet ref 5208107 of 23:15, Monday 13 November 2023 indicates a worrying lack of appreciation of the potential severity of this situation. The term “doesn't currently meet the criteria for intervention” has appeared before, but no clarification of those criteria has been forthcoming. OCC’s invitation to “Find out more about highway repairs and how we assess risk” includes a link “https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/ residents/ roads-and-transport/ street-maintenance-z/ road-repairs” which opens at an OCC page stating “Sorry! We can’t find the page you wanted. …..”. Searches of OCC website have not revealed anything definitive. An authoritative article states:- “In the past seven years, at least 255 people have been killed or seriously injured in the UK while riding bikes due to defects in the road surface,” One pothole which caused the death of a cyclist “was missed during an inspection because the “primary focus” was to identify “dangers to cars”, not cyclists”. [ https://road.cc/ content/ news/ new-pothole-funding-must-not-ignore-cyclists-305163 ]

The pothole identified close to the junction of Wood Lane and Woodlands Rd is quite likely to cause a bicyclist’s injury or death, not only because of its geometry and dimensions but specifically because it is in the probable line of movement when turning right from Wood Lane into Woodlands Rd. The rider must concentrate on the traffic, not be looking for potentially lethal potholes. The rider might fall off the bike into the path of a following or oncoming vehicle. WILL YOU ADMIT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS? If a bike is damaged or a rider injured, will YOU pay? If not who will?