Unadopted Streets

What is an unadopted street?

Unadopted streets are those streets that are not maintained by Lancashire County Council. Alternately, they are owned by individuals or organisations, who have the responsibility to undertake repairs. Ownership of these types of roads is usually linked to the ownership of adjoining land and can include roads, paths and alleyways to the back of properties.

The opposite of an unadopted street is an adopted street, which Lancashire County Council have an obligation to maintain as the highway authority for the area.

There is no comprehensive list of unadopted streets.

How do I found out if my street is adopted or unadopted?

Lancashire County Council have an online mapping tool where you can check your street's status. This can be accessed here.

To use this tool, select the 'Highways and Transport' tab and then select 'Road Status'. This will indicate whether a road is adopted and maintained by Lancashire County Council or unadopted.

Most streets in South Ribble are adopted. However, there are pockets of unadopted streets across the borough. These are a typical feature of historical properties, such as terraced houses with back alleyways. As part of the planning conditions for new developments, we request that new streets be brought up the adoption standard.

How do I get my street adopted?

Requests can be submitted to Lancashire County Council for streets to be adopted, which would transfer ownership of the street to the highway authority.

These streets typically need to be brought up to the adoption standard before they can be considered for adoption. More information on this can be accessed on Lancashire County Council's website.