If you want us to adopt a private road please write to us to give notice and to find out about our criteria at highwaysgeneral@lbhf.gov.uk
If the road meets our standards and it benefits the public, we will adopt it.
The position with unadopted or private roads is that they are maintained using private money, usually by the owners of properties on the road.
Therefore we don’t repair or clean private roads, even though there could be a public right of way where highway and traffic law applies.
New roads that have been privately built (usually by developers) following our guidelines are normally adopted through a legal agreement between the developer and us. These agreements may be drawn up before or after the road is built.
We won’t normally adopt an existing private road unless its owners bring it up to a proper standard, which can be expensive.
Guidance for developers
For more information about our requirements for the design of residential roads and footpaths, please refer to our guide to street design, StreetSmart.