How long do the roads have to be completed after the housing development has finished?

lookstraightahead

Don't mean to hijack the thread but inquisitive about how you don't finish off a road, safety-wise? Who is responsible if you trip over an uneven kerb etc?

Section62

lookstraightahead said:

Don't mean to hijack the thread but inquisitive about how you don't finish off a road, safety-wise? Who is responsible if you trip over an uneven kerb etc?

Probably the owner of the road at that point in time. (although courts often find responsibility is shared between parties, including sometimes the 'victim')

That's one of the reasons why buyers should look very carefully at the red line on the plan and fully understand exactly what it is they are buying responsibility for.

Section62

Apodemus said:

Check with your Council's roads department to see if the road has been adopted and ask if there is a bond in place for completion.  There is a problem in some developments where the bonds were agreed and paid, but commencement of development delayed.  Due to subsequent inflation on materials costs, it can be cheaper for the developers to walk away and lose the bond rather than pay the costs of road surfacing.   Totally unscrupulous behaviour on the part of the developers, but that seems to be the nature of the beast!

The usual problem is the non-completion of the wearing course (the top surface) - it would be rare for new properties to be occupied without the really expensive items (earthworks, drainage, structural courses) having been completed already.

The highway authority should include a commuted sum for future maintenance within the bond (or an up-front cash payment), so if the completion of the road is delayed by long enough that inflation becomes significant then the HA will have gained value by not having to carry out maintenance on the road in the interim.  On a knock for knock basis the HA ought to come out ahead - unless the original cost estimates were way out.

For a tarmac wearing course the materials cost is usually closely tied to oil prices, rather than general inflation. If oil prices have gone up significantly since the original cost estimate then the cost of completion might be more than expected - but any competent HA would have left a reasonable margin in the estimate and the bond should still cover the cost.

By far the most problematic case is the situation where the work already done is defective. For example if materials or workmanship were not up to standard, requiring removal or reworking of what is there already before the road can be completed and adopted.

AdrianC

lookstraightahead said:

Don't mean to hijack the thread but inquisitive about how you don't finish off a road, safety-wise? Who is responsible if you trip over an uneven kerb etc?

If it's visibly uneven, and you know it's uneven, why would it be anybody's fault but yours for not looking where you're putting your feet?

vic_sf49

stevericks said:

We moved into our new home November 2018. the development was finished in 2019, but the roads and paving have still not been tarmacked.
Is there a limit on the time allowed to complete the job?

Thanks,

Steve.

It's quite often mentioned in the Decision Notice issued during the planning permission process.

 I copied this from a development near me... "Before  any  dwelling  is  occupied,  all  of  that  part  of  the  estate  road  and  associated footways  that  forms  the  junction  with  the  main  road  and  which  will  be  constructed within  the  limits  of  the  existing  highway,  shall  be  laid  out  and  constructed  to  finished surface  levels  in  accordance  with.. . "blah blah

I've no idea if anyone ever enforces it though.

Section62

vic_sf49 said:

It's quite often mentioned in the Decision Notice issued during the planning permission process.

 I copied this from a development near me... "Before  any  dwelling  is  occupied,  all  of  that  part  of  the  estate  road  and  associated footways  that  forms  the  junction  with  the  main  road  and  which  will  be  constructed within  the  limits  of  the  existing  highway,  shall  be  laid  out  and  constructed  to  finished surface  levels  in  accordance  with.. . "blah blah

That wording is specific to works required for forming a junction with an existing highway, rather than estate roads in general.

It is usual for the highway authority to want the junction works completed early in the development to provide a safe means of access/egress and not to leave the public highway dug up/uneven/looking a right mess, for any longer than is absolutely necessary.

vic_sf49 said:

I've no idea if anyone ever enforces it though.

If estate roads are being adopted then the planning consent will usually reference whatever Highways Act agreement will be used to achieve that. The HA agreement is likely to specify that the final wearing course isn't to be laid until a stage is reached where plant and lorries are likely to cause damage.

There could still be conditions attached to the consent preventing occupation prior to the completion of the roads (to adoptable standard), however the planning authority wouldn't normally take enforcement action so long as the agreement with the highway authority was adhered to. But in theory the planning authority could take enforcement action if adoption of the roads was essential and the developer was failing (or had failed) to fulfill their obligations.

I think enforcement is rare though, because in most cases the only people who suffer if a road isn't adopted are the residents themselves.

Okydoky25

Estate behind me has taken 5 years and that was only after ALOT of complaints. Full 5 years it was like driving the dodgems around the high iron works with loads of cars getting damaged.