The three speeches/headings immediately before

1. 1 earlier: Philip Hollobone

   I am most grateful to the hon. Lady for that helpful intervention; if she wishes to come back to me at another point, she will be welcome to do so. The estate that she highlights is an important example of how the process is going wrong. There has been extensive coverage of this in the distinguished local newspaper, the Northampton Chronicle and Echo. I have spoken to Councillor David Mackintosh, who represents Ecton Brook ward and, like the hon. Lady, has been heavily involved in the issue. I am sure she will correct me if I get this wrong, but I think that essentially the estate in her constituency comprises some 100 homes, many of which are designated for social housing but which stand empty because of a dispute involving the developers, the housing association and the county council. I understand that there has not been a handover from the developer, McCann Homes, to Genesis Homes, which is the housing association involved. For understandable reasons, Genesis Homes and the county council do not want to take responsibility for the roads on the estate because they are not of a suitable standard.

2. 2 earlier: Sally Keeble

   I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is one of my parliamentary neighbours. The issue that he is highlighting is of great concern to my constituents too, in the new development at Bridleways. In various other streets, particularly Gorse close and Kingsthorpe, we have seen the results of a road not being brought up to adoptable standard. Thirty years or so down the line, people are living in real difficulties because of the inadequate roads and subsidence and drainage problems.

3. 3 earlier: Philip Hollobone

   I am most grateful to you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and to Mr. Speaker for giving me permission to hold this debate, which is on the difficulty that local authorities face in adopting roads in new residential developments. That is a very big issue for my constituency, but in researching the subject on behalf of my constituents, I have discovered that it is a big issue across the country. That is why I want to draw it to the Minister's attention.

   The Government define an adopted road as a road maintainable at public expense, but the problem is that, in taking over roads into which taxpayers' money quite rightly is to be put, local authorities find it very difficult to get building developers to get the roads up to the requisite standard before the local authorities take the roads into public ownership.

   This is not a party political issue; it is an issue of major concern not only to my constituents but to constituents around the country who live on new residential estates. The Government are keen to see many more residential estates being built around the country, not least in the growth areas coming out of London, including the one in which the Kettering constituency is located. Kettering's housing numbers are due to increase from 36,000 at present to 49,100 by 2021—an increase of one third—so many thousands of my constituents are or will be living on new residential estates, and will therefore be affected by what I think is a loophole in the legislation—the Highways Act 1980.

   That loophole means, in effect, that there will be hundreds of thousands of residents across the country living on new housing estates whose houses will be located on roads that will have substandard pavements, highways and lighting for many years to come. The mechanism in the Highways Act for roads to be improved to a suitable standard on new residential estates is section 38. Developers are encouraged to enter into a section 38 agreement with the appropriate highways authority which, for constituencies such as mine in the shires, would be the local county council.

   However, there does not seem to be any legal requirement for the developers to enter into such a section 38 agreement to have the roads adopted. Even if they do enter into a section 38 agreement with the local authority, local authorities are not able, without the developer's consent, to access the bonded funds that the developers lodge with the local county council. So unless a developer goes bust, there is very little the local highways authority can do to pressurise the developer into improving the standard of the roads.

   The other surprising thing I found out in my research for this debate is that the Department for Transport does not know the extent of the problem. In a parliamentary answer to me on 22 October the Minister stated:

   "The Department for Transport has no information on the adoption of streets in new developments by local highway authorities and has made no estimate of the time authorities take to do so."—[ Official Report, 22 October 2009; Vol. 497, c. 1570W.]

   The most recent note from the House of Commons Library on the subject says:

   "A Department of Transport survey in 1972 found that there were then approximately 40,000 unadopted roads in England and Wales, making up some 4,000 miles of road. No later survey has been undertaken but the figure is thought not to have changed much. It was estimated in 2006 that it would cost £3 billion to make these roads up to an adoptable standard."

   If nothing else comes from the debate tonight, I very much hope that the Department for Transport will at least try to ascertain the real extent of the problem, which surely must get worse as more houses are built throughout the country.

   I see that some Labour Members are present to listen to the debate. If at any point they wish to highlight local examples of the difficulties that they have had with unadopted roads, I shall be delighted to take interventions.