Construction of New Roads and Footpaths for Adoption

 

If your development involves the building of new roads this leaflet should be helpful in explaining to you the process which you need to go through to build the road(s) to a standard suitable for adoption by the Council.

 

 

This Council has a policy of serving Advanced Payment Code (APC) notices on all developers whose proposals involve taking access from a road serving in excess of 5 dwellings. This is to ensure that all roads are completed and built to an adoptable standard. The Council normally recommends that a developer enters into a legal agreement under Section 38 of the Highways Act 1980 to avoid paying large cash deposits.

 

 

This allows developers to build roads under the inspection of the Council. Also party to the Section 38 Agreement is a Bondsman (normally a bank or insurance company) who guarantees the works and will provide the Council with funding to complete the job in default of the developer. Developers have to pay the guarantor a fee for this service. There are a number of stages involved in a Section 38 Agreement:-

 

 

The Council agrees the works and approves the drawings, coloured versions of these drawings are then bound into a Section 38 Agreement, which is signed by the Council, the developer and the Bondsman. Works should not start on site until the Section 38 Agreement has been signed and exchanged, since only at this stage will the APC be cancelled.

 

 

Once the inspection fee has been paid the Council's Highway Adoption Engineer will visit the site, and will continue as required.

 

 

This is issued by the Council when the works, set out in the schedule in the Agreement, have been satisfactorily completed. The Bond is reduced at this time usually to 50% of the full estimated cost of the works.

 

 

This is issued by the Council once all the works have been completed and any problems arising attended to. Again the Bond is reduced further, usually to 25% of the full estimated cost of the works, and the site goes into a 12 month guarantee period.

 

This is issued by the Council if at the end of 12 months no faults are found, or if found they are satisfactorily repaired. Upon issuing of this Certificate responsibility for the road passes to the Council.

 

Developer’s responsibilities prior to the Final Certificate being issued include:-

 

 

To meet the Council's costs in approving drawings and carrying out site inspections an Inspection Fee is payable at the time the Section 38 Agreement is signed or when the Council starts inspections, whichever is the sooner. Currently the Inspection Fee for Section 38 works is set at 6.5% of the full Bond Rate with a minimum fee of £350 applying. Where significant revisions to a site layout are made a further checking fee may be levied to cover the Council's additional staff time.

In addition the Solicitor to the Council currently charges £400 to process each legal Agreement.

 

 

It is strongly recommend that before you start works on site you undertake a joint dilapidation survey with an officer of the Council present. This will record all existing defects in the public highway and make it easier for all parties to agree any damage caused by the works, so that they can be put right once works have been substantially completed. Please contact the Highways Adoption Engineer to arrange a joint dilapidation survey.

 

 

You can contact the Adoptions Group at Sheffield City Council

Steve Turner            0114 273 4383

Martyn Bellis             0114 273 6134

Tim Norman              0114 273 6133

Andy Tilsley              0114 273 6132

 

Development Services -

Adoptions Group

Howden House

1 Union Street

Sheffield S1 2HH