Roads and Footpaths

The roads and footpaths of Chorltonville are maintained, on behalf of the residents, by the owners’ committee.  One committee member takes on the responsibility of overseeing the work and liasing with subcontractors. Unlike other areas with private roads individual residents cannot give permission for any works to be undertaken to roads or footpaths. This is unusual so utility companies and their subcontractors are seldom aware of the difference and they turn to house owners for their permission. They should be referred on to the committee.

Although the roads are privately owned and maintained they have been dedicated to public use so cannot be gated or closed to vehicles though heavy traffic is discouraged due to the nature of the estate.

When the estate was first built between 1910 and 1912 the roads and footpaths were surfaced with cinders from the local power station. Much later on all the roads were tarmac surfaced and the footpaths later still. Neither have a substantial sub-base so are easily damaged. In a recent resurfacing exercise, just planing off the crown of the road exposed soil.

Maintenance and Repair

There is an ongoing plan to resurface a section of road each year and, like the Forth Bridge, once it’s all been done it will need to be started again. This does mean that most of the roads sport a better-looking surface than the surrounding publicly maintained streets.

Footpaths are inspected each year for potholes and tree roots growing through the surface and as much repair is done as possible through the budget available.

Adoption versus Maintenance

Whether the roads should be adopted by the council is a question that is raised often. If Chorltonville were to choose adoption the roads would have to be brought up to the national standards at the expense of residents prior to adoption. This would mean putting in a proper sub-base and then resurfacing all the roads plus widening them and altering junctions meaning loss of verges and trees. This exercise would cost each household many thousands of pounds and the estate would lose many of its special features