Adopting new roads

Has my road been adopted?

We provide information via the GIS web-portal, identifying areas that are adopted and administered by us. There are various reasons why public areas may not be in the Council's control, where the following could help inform typical reasons and processes to inform possible delays and direct your inquiry to appropriate individuals.

Adoption agreements

Through the planning process the Council exerts some control over how development is undertaken but the Developer decides what they ‘offer’ for adoption, both in terms of streets and open spaces. 

The Council enters into legal agreements with a Developer to ensure that these are potentially adoptable, either as highways or open space. You may be familiar with a ‘snagging list’ and NHBC certificate for a new house. Something similar applies to spaces around the houses. 

The agreement between the Developer and the Council ensures that the parts of the site that are ‘offered’ for adoption are constructed and inspected to our reasonable satisfaction when the developments are complete.

The agreement includes some ‘warranty’ obligations that are much shorter than the NHBC certificate, so we want to ensure that these are put right before we become responsible for maintenance. Because, if things need to be put right, we would not want the cost to be passed onto Council Taxpayers. 

The sign-off process

The highway works are signed-off in 3 stages:

1. Technical approval to build
2. Substantially complete - identifying defects and minor issues to resolve
3. Final completion – after which they are adopted

Until the streets are adopted, the agreement requires the Developer to maintain the streets at their expense. There are parts of estates that may not be adopted and will be retained as private, either within the ownership / control of residents or the housing association or by a management company on behalf of a group of residents who typically pay a charge.

There are public areas that might not be adopted yet. When an estate is considered substantially complete it will remain in the Developers control for at least one year.

Recent issues

In recent years, Developers have adapted to a series of external factors that have affected the completion of public spaces and streets. The obligation to complete works rests with the Developer, who remains responsible for maintenance until it is adopted. 

Over the pandemic, many Developers made decisions to delay the completion of some works and, in many cases, close down sites. In some cases, they may not have been as quick as they might have been in past to rectify issues identified by residents or the Council. These issues currently remain an obligation for the Developer.