Road ownership

The term 'adoption' is used to define maintenance responsibility for the road.

Whether we're likely to adopt a road depends on the developer. The developer is whoever signed the road agreement or notice, this could be a housing association, landowner or builder.

The developer must finish building the road to agreed standards including remedial works and legal and financial requirements.

We cannot force private developers to carry out work on an unadopted road. We can make representations on behalf of residents of new roads, but we do not have the powers to make developers comply.

See publicly maintainable, private or mixed roads in Medway

Streets maintainable by Medway Council

Medway Council is required to keep an up-to-date list of streets which are highways maintainable at public expense under Section 36 of the Highways Act 1980.

View the list of streets.

What we're responsible for

We are not responsible for maintaining unadopted roads.

If a road is adopted, we will be responsible for:

• the roads, paths, service margins and landscape areas
• street lights
• winter gritting of main routes, road sweeping and gully cleaning

If a developer keeps a road private

If a developer decides a road is to stay private, costs will be the joint responsibility of all the householders with a frontage on the road. A road will also remain private if we do not get the fees or information from the developer.

Section 38 Agreement

New roads that have been built in accordance with our guidelines are normally adopted as an agreement between us and the developer or client under Section 38 of The Highways Act 1980.

Other parties, such as housing associations, may also be attached to the agreement.

Existing private roads will not normally be adopted unless the owners of the road bring them up to current highway adoptable standards.

Section 278 Agreement

Alterations to be made to an existing public highway maintainable at public expense can be carried out using a Section 278 of The Highways Act 1980.