The Sandhill Lane Residents Association (SLRA) is the appointed street authority and manager for Sandhill Lane on behalf of its Residents and Owners.

 

The road is PRIVATE and under the Highways Act 1980, management and upkeep is the joint responsibility of its frontagers rather than the Local Authority and every year we contribute towards the ongoing costs of maintenance - wear and tear caused by everyday light domestic traffic already requires significant investment to maintain the road to an acceptable standard and the fees collected from residents does not cover the cover the increased costs associated with heaver construction traffic.

 

Whilst existing residents have a private Right of Way to their existing properties, there is no public Right of Way except for those on foot as permitted by law to use the Public Footpath (WSCC registered footpath 55W) that runs along the road.

 

Developers should be aware of the legal principle of benefit and burden established by a court in the case of Halsall v Brizell (1957) and reinforced by the Court of Appeal in the case of Goodman and others v Elwood (2013). In summary, this legal principle establishes that where a buyer acquires the benefit of a right over neighbouring land, the buyer must also take on the obligations which relate to that right, even where the buyer has not expressly covenanted to do so.  In the case of the benefit of Access across Sandhill Lane, the obligations are to contribute towards the costs of maintaining the road to agreed standards.

 

It is a fundamental principle of the Residents Association that it is unfair to increase the financial burden on existing residents due to damage caused by the volume, size and weight of construction traffic so we have no option but to charge a levy for such use, chargeable to developers of new builds requiring access via Sandhill Lane. It must be noted that the road surface is constructed to a standard designed for normal day to day light traffic and is more highly susceptible to damage from heavy vehicles than most public highways managed by Local Authorities.

 

The site owner or developer, or their agent, will be required to complete a Developer Agreement supported by an estimate of anticipated site traffic prior to commencement of any work. This enables the SLRA Committee representing existing Sandhill Lane residents the opportunity to discuss the impact of the proposed construction project and agree the charges that should be paid towards additional wear and tear.

 

New connections to water, gas and electricity are likely to require excavation causing potential inconvenience and traffic disruption to other legitimate road users – the SLRA requires advanced notice of such work to ensure that all residents are well informed. Agreement must also be reached with the Association on the proposed repair work to make good any such road excavation so as not to damage the existing road surface.