HBF says conflicting approaches by local authorities ‘make it impossible to plan schemes’
The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has called on the government to introduce common standards for the adoption of roads, saying inconsistent approaches by public authorities and rising costs are making it “impossible for businesses to plan and deliver housing”.
The HBF today published findings from Freedom of Information Act responses obtained from 70 highways authorities showing the cost per highway bond – the financial guarantee local councils demand of developers to ensure the road is built to the agreed standards – has increased by 700% since 2017. The highest value has increased tenfold.
For the 2022-2023 financial year, the average cost per bond ranged from £3,619 to £3.6 million. This compares to a range of £515 to £321,421 when HBF carried out a similar survey in 2017.
The research, entitled Slow Lane to Adoption, also shows huge variations in the length of time public authorities take to technically approve and formally adopt new roads.
It found local authorities are taking between four weeks and nearly five years to formally adopt roads and between two weeks and up to nearly two years to technically approve new highways.
The report said: “The conflicting approaches used by highways authorities, the lack of standard timescales and the increasing costs makes it impossible for businesses to plan and deliver housing.”
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