Login / Register

Road adoptions and private roads - Overview

This information is for developers wishing to have a new road adopted by Bedford Borough Council or require permission to make alternations to a road to support the development.

Section 38 Agreements

Section 38 Agreement of the Highways Act 1980 enables Bedford Borough Council to take over and maintain at the public expense (adopt) roads, footways, footpaths, cycle tracks and other areas constructed by a developer through a legal Agreement.

Bedford Borough Council aims to adopt all roads that serve more than five dwellings, however it is the developer's decision to offer a road for adoption.

Roads serving five or less dwellings do not have sufficient public utility to justify being maintained at the public expense.

Before applying

Developers wishing to apply for a Section 38 Agreement should have first considered:

  • Planning permission and approved planning layout drawings.
  • The extent of the adoptable roads and footways etc (which could to be divided in phases).
  • The consent of the owner of the freehold of the land.
  • The Bedford Borough Council administration, approval and inspection fee, legal fees and possibly commuted sums for non-standard assets or enhanced materials.
  • A Surety or a Cash Bond which is effectively an insurance policy should the works not be completed satisfactorily.
  • The Statutory Undertakers’ consent. This is normally required if any of Statutory Undertakers’ plants or apparatus is affected by the works.
  • Street lighting and Illuminated Equipment. A street lighting design brief will be provided by Bedford Borough Council Street Lighting Department.
  • Other structures to be placed on the highway, eg bridges, boundary walls, etc.
  • Traffic Regulation Order(s).
  • Drains and Sewers’ adoption Agreements.
  • A Road Safety Audit stages 1/2 must be undertaken by the applicant and submitted to us as part of the design checking process. A Road Safety Audit stage 3 will be undertaken by us prior to adoption of the works.
  • Notifying Street Works Department, before commencing any works. Street works permit required prior undertaking any works and installing apparatus in a highway - Section 50 Street Works Licence would be required.

Required standard of roads

Before a road can be adopted it must meet specific construction standards after the layout has been approved through the planning process.

See the required standards in: Appendix 7/1: Permitted Pavement Options (PDF) and Appendix 11/1: Kerbs, Footways and Paved Areas (PDF).

Construction must not begin on a road offered for adoption until:

  • planning permission has been granted
  • all highway-related conditions (which may require revised details) have been discharged
  • road owner and the Council have entered into an Agreement under Section 38 of the Highways Act.

Starting the process

Our Highway and Developer Infrastructure Team is responsible for undertaking all the required technical and design checks and inspection of the works.

For us to start the process, the developer must apply and submit all the information on the Agreement checklist:

Fees apply for the consent, approval processes or any legal fees.

Once the Agreement fee is paid in full, the Council will begin the design checking of the development detail.

Alterations to existing highway

It is an offence to carry out works on a public highway without the consent of the Highway Authority. Any unauthorised work on the highway, undertaken without a completed Section 278 Agreement (or other required highway consent), will result in enforcement action taken against the developer and/or contractor.

Section 278 Agreements

A Section 278 Agreement of the Highways Act 1980 allows developers/applicants to enter into a legal Agreement with the Council to make alterations and improvements to a public highway, as part of a planning application.

On most development sites, it will be necessary to alter the existing public highway layout. This Agreement ensures that the works will be completed to the required standards.

Developers must complete and submit an Application form for Technical Approval Section 278 Agreement to enter into a Section 278 Agreement.

Fees apply for the consent, approval processes or any legal fees.

Once the Agreement fee is paid in full, the Council will begin the design checking of the development detail.

Work on site will only be permitted after:

  • the design has been approved, the section 278 Agreement and warranties have been completed
  • road space has been booked with our Street Works team
  • a pre-start meeting has been attended on site by all the appropriate parties

Section 278 Minor Agreements

When smaller highway schemes are proposed a Section 278 Minor Agreement can be used.

An application for a Section 278 Minor Agreement is a binding Agreement and must only be submitted when the following conditions apply:

  • The value of the works is less than £30,000.
  • A Cash Bond will be offered to guarantee the performance of the works.
  • All works are within the existing highway and there is no need to adopt or secure a covenant over third-party land.
  • The works do not involve structures or other items subject to Commuted Sum payments
  • There is no requirement for a Traffic Regulation Order to support the works.
  • There are no alterations to traffic signals and street lighting required.
  • There are no other matters that would in the opinion of Bedford Borough Council require works to be secured through an Application for Agreement under Section 278/38 of the Highways Act 1980.

A Section 278 Minor Agreement is subject to an administrative and legal fee.

Work on site will only be permitted to start after all of the following have taken place:

  • The design has been approved.
  • The section 278 Agreement and warranties have been completed.
  • Road space has been booked with our Street Works team.
  • A pre-start meeting has been attended on site by all the appropriate parties.

Supporting documents and forms

Contact Highway and Developer Infrastructure

For information about Section 184 Vehicle Crossovers please see our dropped kerbs/vehicle crossover web page.  

For further details regarding the Section 38 and Section 278 processes and fees email development.infrastructure@bedford.gov.uk .

Or write to the Team Leader for Development Infrastructure, Engineering Services, Bedford Borough Council, Borough Hall, Bedford, MK42 9AP.

Obtaining copy Section 38 and Section 278 Agreements

If you need to obtain a copy of an existing Section 38 or Section 278 highways agreements (which will not be found on the Council planning portal) you will need to contact the Council’s Deeds Registry which holds legal documents on behalf of the Council.

Before contacting Deeds Registry at Deeds.Registry@bedford.gov.uk, please ensure you have all the details of the agreement that you would like to obtain. This includes:

  • date of the agreement
  • parties involved
  • name of the development

The required information can be taken from the Local Authority Land Charges search results.

Please note that if there is no Section 38 or Section 278 listed on your search results, then one is either not yet in place or has already been adopted and the road is already maintained by the local authority.

You can check if your road is local authority maintained on www.findmystreet.co.uk.