Question reference: S5W-35678
- Asked by: Graham Simpson, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 2 March 2021
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Current status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 12 March 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that there is uniformity in how local authorities assess the value of road bonds.
Answer
A road bond is intended to protect prospective house purchasers from having to arrange completion of roads to adoptable standards in the event that a developer is unable to do so. It's a security that must be lodged prior to commencement of any building works.
This is in accordance with Section 17 of The Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and The Security for Private Road Works (Scotland) Regulations 1985, as amended by The Security for Private Road Works (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1998. This legislation clearly sets out that a 'local authority shall calculate the amount of security required' and that the security 'shall be an amount sufficient to meet the cost of constructing...the private road concerned in accordance with the construction consent'.
Given that matters are laid out in legislation I can confirm there has been no recent work undertaken to ensure there is a uniformity across local authorities given that it is a matter for them.