What is a Road & Sewer Bond?

A Road and Sewer Bond is a form of surety provided on behalf of a Property Developer or Contractor to a local authority under the relevant planning conditions to ensure the roads and sewers can be and are completed to adoptable standards. The bonds are also there to ensure that statutory obligations in relation to the construction and maintenance of roads or sewers are fulfilled.

Once the developer has completed construction work, it is typically the responsibility of the local authority to maintain our roads (using public expenditure). As such, a developer has an obligation to provide the local authority with a guarantee against the work. This is provided in the form of a Road Bond which is required before any new development can receive planning permission. This Road Bond guarantees that should the Developer’s work fall below standards or behind in the agreed timescale, the local authority can use this financial provision to complete the project.

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A road bond is a guarantee. If the developer’s work is not done to a certain standard and timescale the local authority can use the bond money to complete the project to standard. A bond’s monetary value is usually based on the local authority’s view of the project’s costs and timeframe.

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Like-wise a property developer intending to commence a new development may be required to provide the relevant authority with a bond to secure the cost of completing the necessary infrastructure, particularly in relation to the roads and sewers.