Committee publication · Correspondence · 27 April 2026
Letter to the Secretaries of State for Transport and Housing, Communities and Local Government relating to unadopted roads, dated 3 March 2026
From: Transport Committee
Summary
The Transport Committee writes to the Secretaries of State for Transport and Housing asking about timelines for publishing research and consultation responses on unadopted roads—a longstanding issue affecting new housing developments. The letter seeks clarity on departmental coordination to reform the planning process and road adoption procedures.
Key findings
- The Committee has received concerns about lengthy delays in local authority adoption of roads on new housing developments
- The Department for Transport is conducting research on unadopted roads; publication timeline unknown
- The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is running an open consultation on 'Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements' (closing 12 March 2026)
- Both departments are reportedly exploring planning process reforms to improve road adoption outcomes, but scope and timelines are unclear to the Committee
Tone
ProceduralTopics
housing-developmentlocal-governmentplanning-reforminfrastructure
Key actors
Ruth Cadbury MP, Heidi Alexander MP, Steve Reed MP, Florence Eshalomi MP, Department for Transport, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Transport Committee, House of Commons
Notable line
“The Committee would be grateful to know: • whether the Department for Transport intends to publish the findings of its research, and if so …”
Key Quotes
“The Committee has heard concerns about the length of time being taken by local authorities to adopt roads, particularly on new housing developments.”
“I would be grateful if you could keep my Committee updated with progress in this area, to inform any further scrutiny we may wish to undertake.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗