To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail any consideration her Department has given to formally adopting Notting Hill, South Belfast.

Road adoption by the Department is governed by The Private Streets (NI) Order 1980 (The Order) and roads, including those within private developments such as Notting Hill, will only be considered for adoption if brought to standard through the Private Streets Determination process or by owners/frontagers in accordance with Article 9 of the Order.

The Department can adopt existing streets which have not previously been determined for adoption under Article 9 of the Private Streets (NI) Order 1980 provided it meets the following criteria:

The Department is of the opinion that the street should become a public road and a majority of the owners or occupiers of the land in or adjoining the street consent thereto in writing; or

A majority of such owners or occupiers request in writing that the street should become a public road and the Department is of the opinion that the request be granted; and (in either case)

The Department is satisfied that the street is in all respects fit and proper to become a public road.

Should the majority of owners/occupiers wish their street to be adopted, they should first write to the Department. The Department will then decide whether the street should become a public road or not. If it does, the onus will then lie with the applicants to fund and complete all works necessary to bring the street up the appropriate standard in order to allow adoption to proceed.

Notting Hill does not have a road bond in place, and the Department would therefore not be in a position to contribute towards the works required to bring the road up to an adoptable standard. In this instance all costs would be the responsibility of the residents and property owners.

Further information on the adoption process is available on the Department’s website, via the link here.