Road and footpath maintenance

Can I report an issue with a road, footpath or kerb?

Do I need permission to install a dropped kerb?

Having a dropped kerb installed for vehicular access to your property may need planning permission. 

Please read more about dropped kerbs in our planning section.

Will the council repair private roads?

No, the council has no responsibility to maintain private roads. The council may adopt private roads if requested by the owner provided it is to the correct standard. We will advise further following application. Please send us details of your request:

How often are roads and footpaths inspected?

To comply with our duty under the Highways Act 1980, we carry out routine safety inspections on all public roads and footpaths. How frequently we inspect a road or footpath will depend on the amount of traffic or pedestrians.

We may also carry out additional inspections as a result of reports from members of the public, the police or other organisations.

View the roads scheduled for resurfacing.

How long do repairs take?

The time taken will naturally depend on the extent of repair that is needed. Some roads can be resurfaced and ready to drive on in under an hour, but some repairs may need more time.

We try to reduce inconvenience to the public by giving advance notice wherever possible, either online or using nearby signs. 

We will also sweep the road or footpath both before and after the work is carried out. If replacement road markings are required, these will be replaced as soon as possible.  List of roads to be surface dressed.

My road was due for resurfacing. Why has this not happened?

If we don’t carry out the work on the date stated, this will probably be due to unsuitable weather conditions. Surface dressing work can only be completed during spells of dry weather as the materials we use won’t stick or set properly in cold and wet conditions.

If we have to postpone the resurfacing of a road, we will aim to alter nearby signage with the revised date as soon as possible.

What is the ‘List of Streets’ and what does it show?

Under the Highways Act 1980, Section 36(6), every highway authority has to keep an up-to-date record of any highway maintainable at public expense and allow this to be inspected by any member of the public. This is referred to as the ‘List of Streets’.

Like many rural authorities, where some highways have no name at all we usually record our information as a series of maps – although some areas, such as Bridlington, have their records listed in text. There are two sets of maps showing:

• Highways maintained at public expense - these include the roads and footways that have been adopted by the council.
  
• Public rights of way - these are referred to as the definitive map which shows paths that the public can use, although there are some rights of way that are not maintained by the council. 

What it doesn't show:

Which roads are subject to a New Roads and Streetworks Act Section 58 notice?

Roads subject to a Section 58 notice are those which have had major works recently carried out. The purpose of the notice is to prohibit other organisations, such as a telephone company, from excavating them for up to three years, unless it is an emergency.

Section 58 restrictions summary - April 2022 (35kb)

How have you spent the extra highway maintenance funding?

In the 2018 Budget the government provided an extra £420 million to help repair roads and footpaths (including pothole repairs) and to keep local bridges and structures open and safe. More information on this funding can be found in the Department for Transport's Roads Funding report:

Download the DfT Roads Funding Information Pack (418kb)

The funding was distributed to all local authorities responsible for highway maintenance in England (outside London) using a government funding formula. Through this process the council was awarded an additional £4.897m. The funding had to be spent by March 2019.

One of the conditions of this extra funding was that we published a statement on our website setting out how the money had been spent. This statement and a full list of sites and schemes delivered can be found here:

View repairs made to date

You can also download the full statement in PDF format:

Download the additional maintenance funding statement (98kb)

How does the council maintain the roads?

The council uses a range of techniques to repair and preserve its 2,200 miles of road network from repairing potholes and patch repairs, up to full reconstruction. One of the most effective preservation techniques is a process called surface dressing. We carry out our own programme of surface dressing each summer to treat and protect around 80 miles of roads across the network.

Can I buy highway land?

As a highway authority, we are responsible for the public's highway right to pass over land. Whilst the land has highway rights across it, it cannot be sold, however, it is sometimes possible to remove highway rights through a Stopping Up Application either when a road is no longer required as public highway or where an alternative route is proposed.

The successful making of such an Order will extinguish the highway rights and the public would no longer be legally able to pass or repass over the area of land. In addition, the pubic utilities that may have services running through the area will not be able to use the highway rights to access their services.

Once the highway rights are removed, control of the land reverts back to the owner and it would be up to the owner to decide whether they wished to sell the land. The highway authority generally does not own the land beneath the highway, it usually forms part of the adjacent lands title, but may be owned by a third party or, in some instances, there may be no recorded owner. If the owner of the land is unknown, then the owners of the land adjoining are presumed in law to own the subsoil of the highway up to the middle part of the road. This presumption may be displaced by actual evidence of ownership. You are advised to take independent legal advice where an owner does not exist, in order to ascertain any rights over the land.

How do I have a highway stopped up?

There are two routes to remove highway rights by stopping up a highway:

• Town and Country Planning Act 1990
• Highways Act 1980

Town and Country Planning Act 1990

Section 247 of this Act allows for the stopping up and/or diversion of any highway that is required in order to facilitate a development with a valid and relevant planning permission. It may also provide for the provision of new/improved highway which also form part of the planning permission.

This legal process must be completed before physical changes to the highway are made.

Where a stopping up/diversion is required in order to implement a planning permission, the stopping up/diversion is carried out under the Town and Country Planning Act. The decision on whether an order will be granted is made by the Secretary of State.

Where the highway is to be stopped up under the Act, an individual or developer will need to make an application to the Department for Transport. East Riding of Yorkshire Council does not have any involvement with this application. 

Find out more about the process and how to apply on GOV.UK (external website)     

Highways Act 1980

Section 116 of this Act allows the highway authority to apply for the stopping up/diversion of the highway where it

• is unnecessary, or
• can be diverted so as to make it nearer or more accessible to the public.

The application may completely remove highway rights or downgrade a route to a lower status such as a footpath or bridleway.

The application is made at a Magistrates' Court and can only be made by the relevant highway authority. Anyone else who wished to stop up/divert a highway may request the highway make an application on their behalf and at their (requestor's) cost.

If a request is received, the council will determine whether it is possible to stop up the highway. If we agree to make the application, the requestor is required to pay £2,000 to cover our basic costs in connection with making the application. This amount must be paid before the application process commences. In addition to these costs, should there be objections and the hearing at the Magistrates' Court is deferred, the requestor must pay for any additional costs which arise. The requestor will also be required to meet all of the costs of any highway alterations, diversion of any highway apparatus/statutory undertakers' plant and/or costs of entering into any wayleaves/easements that may be required as a consequence of the order.

It is up to the Magistrate to approve the application and there is no guarantee that the changes will be approved. Costs incurred will be recovered regardless of whether the application is successful.

Highway Stopping Up Procedure (65kb)

Highway Stopping Up Procedure Flow Diagram (31kb)

If you wish to explore the possibility of an application please contact transport.policy@eastriding.gov.uk