The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) has submitted its response to the government’s consultation on ‘Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements’ in England, highlighting the need for clearer processes, better transparency for homebuyers and sustainable transport planning in new developments. 

CIHT welcomes the consultation and the recognition of the issues that privately managed estates can create for residents and local authorities. Whilst adopting all roads within new developments may not always be practical, particularly given pressures on local authority maintenance budgets, public authorities remain ultimately responsible for ensuring safety and effective management of the highway network. 

In its response, CIHT emphasises that new developments must be designed to support sustainable transport from the outset. The Institution recommends that all main “spine” roads within developments should be constructed to adoptable standards and mandatorily adopted, ensuring that public bus services can operate from day one and preventing new communities from becoming car dependent.  

CIHT also highlights the risks of adopting roads retrospectively where infrastructure has not been built to adoptable standards. Bringing such roads up to the required standard can create significant costs and disruption for both residents and local authorities.  

To address this, CIHT recommends introducing a “deliverability check” early in the planning process. This would involve highway authorities confirming adoptability before construction begins, alongside pre-application discussions between developers, planning authorities and highway authorities to clarify which roads will ultimately be adopted.  

The response also calls for greater transparency for homebuyers. Feedback from CIHT members suggests many purchasers are unaware of private management arrangements and the associated long-term costs. CIHT therefore recommends mandatory disclosure of management arrangements, including clear information on adoption status, estate management fees and future maintenance liabilities.