What is a highway search?
When you buy a home or develop land, you may need to check the status of nearby roads and paths. This is important because you need to know you have unhindered access to your property at all times.
We provide highway search reports for all roads in Harrow. The report will show you where the highways are in relation to your property. It will also show who is responsible for them.
What we check
Highway adoption status
This shows if a road is maintained at public expense by the council.
Public Rights of Way (PROW)
A PROW is a public path across land that anyone has a legal right to use. This includes footpaths, bridleways, and byways.
Traffic scheme proposals
This covers future plans for new road layouts or traffic rules in the area.
Section 38 and Section 278 status enquiries
Agreements where builders hand over new roads or junction upgrades to the council to maintain.
Highway search fees
There is a fee for these checks. The fee depends on the type of plan you request. All search plans are sent as electronic PDF files. Fees for a highway search:
- Highway adoption status with PDF plan: £77.70
- Public Rights of Way search with PDF plan: £77.70
- Traffic scheme proposals (no plan included): £52.70
- Section 38 and Section 278 status enquiry (no plan included): £52.70
Standard PDF plans are set to fit a standard-size page. Very long roads or large path networks may not fit on a single plan. If you need extra pages to cover a whole road, there is an extra charge of £25 for each extra PDF plan. There is no value added tax on highway searches.
You can see the Highway Adoption Register and the Definitive Map. The Definitive Map is the legal record of all public paths in Harrow. Please note. If you view these records, you'll need to understand the map details by yourself.
Requesting a highway search
To request a highway search, you will need to:
- Email your search request and a site map to infrastructure@harrow.gov.uk.
- Pay online using our payment portal*
Please make sure you enter:
- Your company name
- Your email address
- The full address of the highway search site
- Any specific questions you need answered
*When paying, select Highways. Then select Property search on highway information.
What happens next
- Once you submit your application, we’ll send your completed plan in 20 working days.