Definition of road

[thecountrysideistooquiet]

Hi can anyone tell me what the difference between an unadopted road and a shared access driveway is please? We are away to sell up and the Home Report has been completed, outside our house at the bottom of our private driveway big gate seperating us and the road is a single track road which comes off of the B road and runs for about a mile past our house before joining up with another B road. There are 7 houses use this road and as far as we are aware it has always been called an unadopted road but when i was reading through our Home Report it was called a shared access drive way. What is the difference? I have never heard anyone else refer to it as this.

It means it is privately owned i.e. Not maintained by the council/highways agency and the owner has legally given permission for it to be used by you (and the other houses) to get to your property

Sorry pressed too soon! It still is classified as an unadopted road as well, it's just that in legal terms, a solicitor has to prove that you legally can get to your property, otherwise it would be worthless!

Thanks for the reply. From speaking to the neighbours a while back as we needed to do some road repairs they have always said that nobody owns the road, the fields at either side were sold from a private estate to different farmers a long time ago but there was nobody to own the road so we all chip in and pay to fix it when it needs it's annual pot holes filled in. The community council tried to look into it and drew a blank too. When we bought it was classified as unadopted by our lawyer but it was just the new wording by the surveyor confused me and it was not very clear by looking online what the difference was.

I have just found the title deeds and the map of our house and the road in front has public roadway written on it. So is a roadway also a driveway even if all properties off it have their own private driveways and the public can drive along the road out front too? Sorry i am just as confused as before

Hmm if no one knows who owns it then (if you weren't moving) I would advise you to get together with your neighbours and get some legal advice and try to claim collective ownership of the road for the properties, to avoid future problems. In the meantime I hope it doesn't cause you any problems when you sell it, I think as its been used for a long time you would have legal rights to use it so it should be ok, but I'd like something drawn up properly if it was me particularly as you've been paying for repairs etc.

Sorry! Cross posted! Does sound like it needs looking into legally but maybe by the new owners! It should either by adopted by the council so they can maintain it or claimed as the property of the houses it serves with an agreement between the properties for paying for the maintenance equally. The properties shouldn't need to pay for the road itself as in theory the council would be quids in by not having to maintain it, it would just be legal fees to share out.

Thank you so much for your insight. I was just worried the terminology of shared access driveway would put people off as the road has no dead end it is attached to a main road at either end. One of the surveyors said that the council have been knows to quietly unadopt roads without telling residents i did not think they would be allowed to to do this?