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Road Adoption guidance notes

If you want to dedicate a road as a highway please click here to contact us to give notice. If we are satisfied that the road meets the proper standard and it benefits the public, we will adopt it.

Road adoption criteria
To be adopted, a road must meet the following requirements:

  • The road must form a direct link with the existing public highway network
  • The carriageway and footways must be of widths and gradients that offer a safe passage for pedestrians and vehicles 
  • The carriageway and footways must have an approved means of surface water drainage
  • The street lighting must meet the current local requirements and national standards
  • The materials used must meet the current construction standards
  • The freehold owner/s of the land must dedicate the road as a public highway when it is built, at no cost to the council, under a Section 38 Agreement of the Highways Act 1980
  • The road must remain open to the public to pass and re-pass at all times when it is formally adopted      

Guidance notes for developers

For further guidance on the design of residential roads and footpath layout with respect to the council’s requirements, please refer to Design Bulletin 32: Residential Roads and Footpaths (2nd Edition: 1992). For guidance on specification and detailed design, please refer to our guide to street design StreetSmart. To order a copy of StreetSmart, please click here.

If a road is to be adopted, its design and construction must be supervised by the council under an Agreement pursuant to Section 38 of the Highways Act 1980. You must also get our formal consent before any work can take place on a new or existing public highway. When submitting a plan to us for a new road, you should follow these guidelines:

  • The whole development should be shown on one sheet (usually 1:200 scale)
  • The roads and footways for adoption should be shaded  
  • Accommodation works (works on an existing public highway) should be shaded differently from roads and footways 
  • Foul sewers for adoption by Thames Water Utilities should be shown 
  • Surface water sewers for adoption by Thames Water Utilities should be shown 
  • Any highway drainage for adoption by council should be shown 
  • Road gully locations should be shown. Drainage from highways should run to road gullies. All private areas should be drained within private curtilage 
  • Footway vehicular crossings should be shown 
  • Pedestrian/pram ramps that are flush to the road surface are required at junctions, across vehicular crossings and at other strategic locations. Ramps at junctions should typically be located at the back of the path line of the major road 
  • Street lighting designed to BS 5489 and approved by the council should be shown     

For more information on road adoption, please click here to contact us.