A criminal for doing the right thing

I disagree the pothole in the OP was as far as I am aware is not an on unadopted road but part of the public highway therefore the Councils responsibility  , the pothole was due to be repaired but the Councils Contractors had not got around to it busy elsewhere, there are thousands of potholes that need repair right across the UK, Councils are strapped for cash as well.

IMHO Legally speaking the person who filled the pothole could be taken to task by the Council I understand why he/she or they did it , you are now permitted to put anything on the Public Highway without permission from the Council, silly things such as putting our your wheelie bins on the road to reserve a parking space outside you house, or putting anything on the public pavement that may obstruct it , people in wheelchairs, parents with buggies .etc

Private roads their upkeep is down the people whose houses front on to them, as for unadopted roads last thing a Council wants is to adopt them if they do it means local taxpayers have to pay for their upkeep .

All on line just the introduction 


 "There are two main types of private or unadopted road: those on new developments such as housing estates and those which, usually by historic accident, have existed for a long time, often since the nineteenth century. A Department of Transport survey in 1972 found that there were then approximately 40,000 unadopted roads in England and Wales, making up some 4,000 miles of road. No later survey has been undertaken but the figure is thought not to have changed much. The Labour Government estimated in 2009 that it would cost £3 billion to make up these roads to an adoptable standard.



The law on the maintenance and adoption of private roads in England and Wales is highly complex. It is largely contained in Part XI of the Highways Act 1980. Briefly, a private or unadopted road is by definition a highway not maintainable at public expense. The local highway authority is therefore under no obligation to pay for its maintenance. Responsibility for the cost of maintaining a private road rests with the frontages (the owners of properties which front onto such roads).



Statutory provision does exist for unadopted roads to be adopted and thus become highways maintainable at public expense. Statutory provision also enables the street works authority to require frontages to undertake repairs if there is a danger to traffic in a private street. Where the frontages fail to act as required the authority may execute the repairs itself and recover the costs from the frontages. "