Shropshire Council Promises ‘Bold Move’ to Clear Road Adoption Delays

A “bold” initiative is underway to address the backlog of hundreds of roads still awaiting adoption, according to Councillor Duncan Borrowman.

Speaking recently at a Llanyblodwel Parish Council meeting, the Liberal Democrat councillor for Llanymynech and chairman of Shropshire Council explained that highway adoptions have consumed a significant amount of his time, with responses often amounting to requests for more delays.

“Following persistent pressure, the Cabinet members responsible for highways and planning held discussions with the council’s most senior highways officer,” Cllr Borrowman revealed. “It emerged that there are currently 240 highway adoption cases stalled, involving around 3,000 homes, some of which have been delayed for as long as a decade. We’ve been informed that a ‘bold’ strategy is being developed to resolve all of these.”

“We’ll have to wait and see how this unfolds.”

Councillor David Walker, Cabinet member for planning, acknowledged the scale of the problem: “We are fully aware that a substantial number of roads are still awaiting adoption, which is understandably a concern for many residents as well as councillors and officers alike.

“Our team is actively working on a comprehensive plan to address this issue, which is expected to be brought before the Cabinet shortly. We will share further updates once the plan is finalized.”