The petition of residents of the constituency of Mid Cheshire,
Declares that homeowners and tenants in newly built properties are waiting too long to see their streets and sewerage infrastructure adopted by the relevant authorities; and further declares that residents are living with years of uncertainty and potential financial liabilities.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to (a) develop a clear standards framework for infrastructure adoption; (b) ensure that housing developers, local authorities and water utilities work together to bring about the timely adoption of infrastructure; and (c) if necessary, legislate to ensure infrastructure is adopted.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Andrew Cooper, Official Report, 15 July 2026; Vol. 789, c. 1016.]
[P003219]
Observations from the Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook):
The Government recognise concerns about delays in the adoption of streets and sewerage infrastructure on new housing estates, and the wider issues that can arise where roads, drainage systems, green spaces and other shared amenities remain unadopted.
The Government are determined to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which can leave homeowners and residents responsible for the cost and management of infrastructure and amenities that might otherwise be adopted and maintained by public authorities or utility companies.
On 18 December 2025, the Government published a consultation on reducing the prevalence of these arrangements in England. The consultation sought views on options to increase the adoption of estate amenities on new developments by public authorities, introduce common standards for adoptable amenities, consider mandatory adoption for certain public infrastructure, remove financial incentives that make non-adoption attractive to developers, and improve transparency and data on estate management arrangements.
Those proposals are directly relevant to the issues raised in the petition. The consultation sought views on how clearer and more consistent standards for adoptable roads, drainage systems, green spaces and other amenities could improve quality of amenities and certainty for residents, developers, public authorities and utility companies. It also seeks views on how greater certainty about adoption requirements, supported by better evidence on the impacts for developers, local authorities and other affected parties, could support more timely and consistent adoption of infrastructure on new estates.
In parallel, the Department for Transport has commissioned independent research by Ipsos UK into how the road adoption process operates in practice in England, with a particular focus on sections 37 and 38 of the Highways Act 1980. That work is gathering evidence from local highway authorities and other stakeholders on whether the current system remains fit for purpose.
In considering the case for further reform, the Government note the arrangements in Wales. Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 provides a framework for the approval and adoption of sustainable drainage systems. Section 42 of that Act amended the Water Industry Act 1991 to prevent new sewers and lateral drains from connecting to the public sewerage system unless an adoption agreement is in place, or the sewerage undertaker is otherwise required to adopt them. Those provisions demonstrate one possible legislative model for securing earlier consideration of standards, approval, and adoption responsibilities. The Government are considering the evidence received through the consultation before determining what further measures may be appropriate in England.
The Government are already taking action through the planning system to support better designed, more resilient sustainable drainage on new developments. The national planning policy framework requires all new development with drainage implications to incorporate sustainable drainage systems, appropriate to the nature and scale of the proposal, to control flow rates and reduce volumes of run-off. On 17 August the Government published a new NPPF that includes a new requirement for SUDS to be designed in accordance with the national standards for sustainable drainage, to provide a consistent basis for improving their design.
The Government will continue to consider how planning policy, technical standards, and wider reform to adoption arrangements can work together. The objective is to ensure that drainage and other shared infrastructure are planned, delivered, maintained and, where possible, adopted in a way that gives residents confidence and avoids leaving households with uncertain liabilities.
The Government will consider the consultation responses carefully and set out our next steps in due course. In doing so, we will continue to focus on reducing the prevalence of privately managed estates, improving the quality and consistency of adoptable infrastructure, and seeking to ensure that homeowners and residents on new estates are not left facing avoidable uncertainty or unfair costs.