New development supervision of road construction

"Road adoption" is the term used to describe the local authority taking over maintenance responsibility of a "private road". This maintenance is then funded at the public expense.

All roads and footpaths must be constructed in accordance with the Highway Authority's requirements for example:

• street lighting
• road and footway construction
• tree and shrub planting
• drainage
• road markings 

If a road remains private then all maintenance and road cleaning is the responsibility all the property owners / occupiers of that road, even though it could be a public right of way to which highway and traffic law can be applied.

Normally adoption of is carried out by an agreement between the developer and the Council under Section 38 of the Highways Act 1980.