Highway status and road adoption

Road or Highway adoption

Adopted roads are roads that the Council is responsible for. They are maintained and repaired by us using public funds.

If a road is not adopted, it's classed as a "private road", which is not maintained at public expense and is the responsibility of the developer or landowner. We are under no obligation to clean or carry out repairs on a private road, even if it is a public right of way.

Roads are normally adopted when they are newly built, as part of a legal agreement between us and the developer. This is done under Section 38 of the Highways Act 1980 and therefore called a 'Section 38 Agreement'.

However, some new roads are never adopted. If the developer chooses not to apply for a Section 38 agreement, these new roads will remain as private streets and the residents will often be responsible for their upkeep.

The Council (the Highway Authority) would never normally adopt an existing unadopted road. The only exception being when the road will have to handle increased traffic due to new development. In these cases, we would expect the developer to fund this adoption.

Public notices of recent Highway Adoption orders

For further information about road adoption, please contact us.