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The council undertakes the management of design approval, construction planning, site inspection, enforcement and adoption of new streets built by developers across the rural county area.
New streets are created on residential, commercial and industrial developments with over two hundred sites across rural Dorset currently at varying stages of completion.
Section 38 of the Highways Act 1980 gives local authorities the power to enter into agreements with developers to adopt highways for future maintenance, provided they are laid out and constructed to the council's specification.
The council recovers the cost of inspecting the work and preparing the agreements. The extra over cost of maintaining aesthetic features, not essential for highway purposes, will be recovered from the developer in the form of a commuted sum.
Adoption agreements
The council is responsible for keeping an accurate record of adopted roads, issuing formal adoption notices and also maintaining a digital record of Section 38 and 278 Agreements.
- Adopted Highway policy
- The Advance Payments Code - General Guidance for Developers
- The Advance Payments Code - Private Street Exemption Guidance
- Commuted Sums - February 2017
- Guidance Note for the Adoption of New Streets - July 2012
- Industrial Design Guide January 1997
- Minor Works Application Form
- Minor Works Agreements
- Parking Design Guide January 1997
- Section 278 Highway Agreement Application Form
- Section 38 Agreement Application Form
- Specification for the construction and drainage of New Streets November 2014
- Technical Approval and Detailed Design Submissions
- Works on the Public Highway Instigated by Developers
Contact us
For further information about Highway Adoptions, please contact the Highway Development team below.