We are responsible for highways which have been adopted as part of a legal agreement. If a road has not been constructed to the council's specified standards then the council will not adopt a road and this shall instead remain a private street.
Highway Register - Status of Streets
The online map shows the current legal status of all streets in Bolton.
| Colour key | Description |
|---|---|
| Adopted (brown) | An adopted road is a public highway that is maintained at public expense by Bolton Council. The public has a right to pass and re-pass along adopted highways, either on foot or dependent on suitability, in a vehicle motorised or otherwise. |
| Unadopted (red) | An unadopted road is one which Bolton Council has no duty to maintain but which the public have a right to use. Usually the owners of properties fronting an unadopted road own the road up to the centre line and have responsibility for maintaining it to a satisfactory condition. The public has a right to pass and re-pass along unadopted highways, either on foot or dependent on suitability, in a vehicle motorised or otherwise. |
| Private (green) | These are roads that the public do not have the right to use. Generally they can only be used by the owner of the road and anyone who has the permission of the owner to use them. These roads are maintained and repaired by the owner. |
| Closed (yellow) | These roads have been legally closed and are no longer public highways. |
| Highway under construction (blue hatched) | These are streets which are still being built (for example, on new housing estates) and which the Council has not yet adopted. |
| Ancient Highways (blue) | These are highways that have existed for a very long time but where there has been no pressing need for them to be brought up to a modern standard. They are for the most part un-made roads but they are, maintained at public expense. |
For further information about the adoption of a new or existing highway, or to purchase a copy of our Roads for Adoption guidelines, please contact us.
Contacting usOur staff are often out of the office and unable to take calls. The best way to contact us for all Highways enquiries, is to complete this form and we will get back to you as soon as we can. |