Public and private roads
A ‘public road’ is one maintained by the local council as Roads Authority. For the motorways and trunk roads for the Roads Authority is Transport Scotland. Each Roads Authority is required to maintain a list of public roads| for its area.
A ‘private road’ is one maintained by persons or bodies other than the Council as Roads Authority. It does not necessarily imply that a private road is closed to the public.
You can view the List of Public Roads for the Falkirk Council area through the Documents link. It is generally updated every two months.
List of public roads
The list of public roads is believed to be comprehensive but this cannot be guaranteed. The list does not at present include certain footpaths which are public roads in their own right.
You can also inspect the list of public roads and the related detailed maps at our offices at Abbotsford House. Access to the list of public roads is free and members of the public will be assisted in obtaining specific and relevant items of information. A computerised database is available for search companies.
The list of public roads is covered by copyright. In particular, any commercial use or re-use of the information provided requires the prior written consent of Roads and Development Unit. Fuller details are given at the start of the list.
Property enquiry service
In addition, Falkirk Council provides a ‘property enquiry’ service for solicitors or others engaged in conveyancing. The information provided includes whether properties are located on a public road, for which the current fee is £16 per enquiry. Enquiries should be sent in writing, together with the fee, to Development Services.
Local Street Gazetteer
Under the New Roads & Street Works Act 1991, each Roads Authority is required to maintain a Local Street Gazetteer created in accordance with British Standard BS7666. The Gazetteer holds the name or description of all roads and footpaths open to the public (i.e. public or private) within the Council’s boundaries together with further technical information (‘Associated Data’). As yet not all footpaths have been incorporated.
The Gazetteer and Associated Data must be viewed by public utilities and other contractors who require to excavate in a road.
The Gazetteer forms the basis for street naming and numbering and property addressing. It is not yet available for public view, although it is hoped that it will be in the future. This may be achieved in time by publishing the National Street Gazetteer, a compilation of Scotland’s thirty two Local Street Gazetteers.