Review of unadopted streets underway after successful pilot in Bridgend

A review of other ‘unadopted’ streets in Bridgend County Borough is ongoing in order to determine the costs involved in bringing the streets up to an adoptable standard.

The scheme has already been used in Ynyslas, Porthcawl and the street involved will now be maintainable by Bridgend County Borough Council after securing Welsh Government funding.

Ynyslas was previously one of thousands of streets across England and Wales not adopted by any authority and, as such, responsibility for its upkeep rested entirely with residents and property owners.

But, in a new Welsh Government pilot, the street has been adopted by the council after funding was awarded to bring the carriageway and footways up to standard and allow Bridgend County Borough Council to take over the maintenance responsibility.

The £230,000 scheme will also help to better understand the cost implications of tackling the historical backlog of such streets throughout Wales.

The work at Ynyslas includes reconstructing footways and carriageways, survey and repairing highway drainage, and undertaking other associated works to ensure the highway is suitable for adoption. It was chosen because of the poor condition of the footways and the concrete road, which was severely broken up, and the number of properties it served.

Mr Asseratti, a local resident said of the work: “The pavements have an excellent look and from my point of view it’s wonderful to finally have Ynys Las at its optimum best.” He added: “The contractors and their employees have, throughout this time, shown a consistent level of consideration and kindness throughout their work”.

The funding was made available as a pilot scheme by Welsh Government as part of its ongoing consideration of addressing the issues surrounding unadopted streets throughout Wales.

By bringing the street up to a standard where it can be adopted by the council, the area will prosper in the long term from regular maintenance and the benefits of being part of the main road network.

With further funding from the Welsh Government, we aim to look at similar opportunities to improve more streets in the future.

Janine Nightingale, Corporate Director of Communities