A snag list for a site you left last year
You built the roads and footways on a housing estate, to binder course first and then surface course once the houses were done. The highway authority's inspector has been round. A letter arrives with a snag list: some kerbs to reset, gullies to clean, a section of footway to relay, ironwork to adjust, a few lines of white lining. Your gangs are on three other sites. The last snag list for this estate was half done, and nobody is sure which half.
The housebuilder is chasing because adoption of the roads is holding up their own paperwork with buyers.
Why road adoption drags
Road adoption runs over years and involves the developer, the highway authority's inspectors and you. Snag lists arrive as letters or PDFs, describe locations by house number or chainage, and are dealt with in bursts when a gang can be spared. Nothing links an item on one list to the same item on the next.
- Snag lists arrive as documents, not as jobs.
- Locations are described in words the gang has to interpret.
- Completed snags are not recorded with evidence.
- Inspections are months apart, so memory fails between them.
- Surface course timing depends on the housebuilder finishing plots.
What slow road adoption costs
Gangs and plant brought back to old sites repeatedly for small jobs. Items reported as done that the inspector does not agree with. Money held by the housebuilder, depending on your subcontract, until the roads are adopted. And housebuilders who remember which groundworker made their adoption difficult when they next tender.
The road adoption tracker we build
- Each estate is set up with its roads, the highway authority, the developer, and the stages and dates that apply.
- Each inspection's snag list is read and turned into individual items, each placed on the site plan by house number, chainage or description, and checked by a person.
- Items are grouped into a work list for a gang, so one visit clears as many as possible.
- The gang closes each item on a phone with before and after photos, located on the plan.
- When the next inspection comes, items from the previous list are shown with their evidence, and new items are added.
- Dates such as surface course, maintenance period start and end, and certificates are tracked, with reminders.
- The housebuilder can see progress through a shared view.
| Snag item | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Reset kerb | Outside plot 14 | Done, photos |
| Clean gully | Junction of roads A and B | Done, photos |
| Relay footway | Plots 22 to 24 | Scheduled for next visit |
| Adjust ironwork | Manhole by plot 30 | Disputed, housebuilder damage |
Standards and what the inspector will accept are set by the highway authority. We track the items and evidence; we do not interpret the standards.
Snag lists that get finished
Each inspection becomes a list of jobs on a map, not a letter in a folder. Gangs clear items efficiently in one visit. Evidence of every completed item is ready for the next inspection. You can see, across all your estates, how much snagging is outstanding. And housebuilders can see the position themselves, which cuts the chasing.
Items caused by others, such as housebuilders' plant damaging kerbs, are recorded with photos, which helps when you discuss who pays.
Are your estate roads stuck like this?
- Snag lists arrive as letters or PDFs.
- Gangs return to old sites for a handful of items.
- You are unsure which items from the last list were done.
- Inspectors dispute items you thought were complete.
- Housebuilders chase you about road adoption.