Mrs Erskine led an Assembly debate on the issue this week. Speaking afterwards she said, “There are many reasons why housing developments may see delays before they are adopted as part of the road network. Owners of the houses are often unaware of the problem, but find out when a pothole cannot be repaired, or where the owners themselves are left financially liable for costly repairs and upgrades. That doesn’t include damage to vehicles form potholes or the risk of injury from poorly lit streets.
Whilst there are current powers held by the Department to require the execution of all works necessary to bring a street into conformity with the regulations. If the notice isn’t complied with, work can be completed with costs recovered from the bond supplied by developers. However these powers appear to be rarely used, and they are also not tough enough to ensure success. Homeowners are far too often stuck in the middle of a dispute between a developer and statutory agencies, if indeed the developer is still in business.
Having seen countless examples of this problem I have carried out work on legislation to introduce as a Private Members Bill to the Assembly. As far back as 2012 an Assembly Committee called for an inquiry into unadopted roads. In 2021 the Infrastructure highlighted the lack of progress. There has been no progress during that time and that is why I have signalled an intent to take this forward via the Private Members legislation.
Homeowners across Northern Ireland should not be forced to continue to bear not just the cost but the impact of failures in this area.”