Paper road

File:Beyond Pipiwharauroa Way on the Vandy Rd side of the summit the part formed Plateau Rd drops through a rock cutting about 300 metres long, 3 metres wide and up to 3 metres deep..JPG

This part formed paper road near Te Uku Wind Farm was started about 1896 and was part formed when construction stopped about 1914. It drops through a rock cutting about 300 metres long, 3 metres wide and up to 3 metres deep.

A paper road is a road laid out in a development or subdivision plan. Paper roads may exist only on paper, never having been developed, but they have a legal existence, whether on private or public land. They are especially common in New Zealand, where they were created primarily for future access in rural areas (though in some cases, their layout was determined without checking whether the topography was acceptable for a road). Some Districts are reputed to have as many paper roads as actual, formed roads.

File:Walking Access map.jpg

These extracts from a Walking Access Commission map of the area in the photo above, illustrate the extent of paper and actual roads (purple), compared to actual roads only (map on right).

Controversies sometimes arise about ownership or use of paper roads. Property owners may feel that an abutting undeveloped paper road is part of their property, but other property owners may have rights to access via that road, access which could be developed in the future if the need arises. The presence of a paper road can affect property valuation since there may be required building setbacks from the road, which might limit development opportunities.

See also

• Easement

External links

• NZ Walking Access Commission information sheet on unformed legal roads (paper roads).
• 2015 Scoping Study on reopening of a Waikato paper road:estimated at $50,800 for 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi).