Classified Unnumbered road
Classified Unnumbered road | ||
Wolverhampton's U99 is an example of a Class III road | ||
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Classification | ||
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Trunk road • Principal road • Classified Numbered road • Unclassified road |
A Classified unnumbered road, or Class III road, is a category of road in the United Kingdom, recognised by the Department for Transport. In importance, they are between Classified Numbered roads (also known as Class II or B roads), and Unclassified roads.
Designating or de-designating a road as "classified unnumbered" requires the approval of the Secretary of State for Transport.
Suggestions for increasing the classification of roads started almost immediately after the initial allocations in 1922-23. Several London borough councils thought more roads should be classified in their areas, particularly roads that were used as bus routes. C roads began to appear as an informal set of classifications on a per-county or county borough basis during the 1940s, and while there was consideration to putting them on signs, this was abandoned. Class III roads themselves were instituted in April 1946, and from that time grants of 50% were allocated to Highway Authorities towards to costs of work on these roads[1].
It is a common misconception that roads marked on OS Landranger mapping in yellow, or those in bright yellow on newer maps are Class III roads. This is not the case, and the application of the yellow colouring refers to the physical standard of the road and not its classification.
Numbering
Although commonly referred to as C Roads, this is not always true. While the majority of Highway Authorities use the C prefix, several use other letters. For example Newport and Monmouthshire Councils use an "R" prefix, and Wolverhampton Council uses a "U" prefix, which they state stands for urban classified. Some Highway Authorities have chosen to use "Z" as an additional prefix for spurs or alternative routes off the main route, giving rise to "ZC" and "ZR" roads. Some Highway Authorities even choose to not number their Class III system at all.
There is no national system of numbering for Class III roads, which remain officially unnumbered at a national level. Each Highway Authority has their own system and therefore there can be several examples of each road number around the country - see C1 as an example. Many Highway Authorities share their numbering with a neighbouring authority, this is usually due to the numbering system being established prior to government reorganisations and boundary changes, and then the replacement authorities simply continuing to use the predecessor body's numbering. For example, there appears to be an old West Riding of Yorkshire system that is still used across the modern day metropolitan authorities. Any numbering of a Class III road should be unique within each Highway Authority; and will therefore not be unique nationally.
However, the existence of an internal number for the road within a Highway Authority does not mean that the road is a Class III road. Some authorities also choose to number some or all of their Unclassified roads network with secondary letters, often D or U.
Signage
As a rule, Class III numbers are not shown on signage, but they are occasionally spotted, both on permanent signs and roadworks signs. This has given rise to the SABRE term "The Great C Road Hunt"[2], as members submit sightings of road numbers on temporary (or permanent signage). Many Highway Authorities supply lists of their Class III roads online or via a Freedom of Information request, however some are less helpful, requiring a more in depth search online. As an example, a lot of Gloucestershire Council's road numbering has been gleaned from their online roadworks notices.
Roads.org.uk[3] also has a page where there are examples of visitor submitted sightings of Class III roads on signage.
Origin of name
Whilst the term classified unnumbered seems like an oxymoron, the term comes from the fact that historically the roads were classified for funding purposes, yet were not numbered at a national level.
Road Lists By Council Area
Note: Total network lengths are only displayed where known - either from Freedom of Information requests or by calculating the total from completed council pages. These totals will be revised as necessary.
England - North West
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Blackburn with Darwen Council | C | |||
Blackpool | C | 13.6 | 8.5 | Numbering shared with Lancashire |
Bolton | ? | |||
Bury | C? | 32.9 | 20.4 | Numbers not known |
Cheshire West and Chester | C | Numbering shared with Cheshire East | ||
Cheshire East | C | 557.3 | 346.1 | Numbering shared with Cheshire W & Chester |
Cumberland | C | 1025.0 | 636.7 | Numbering shared with Westmorland & Furness |
Halton | ? | |||
Knowsley | C | 46.5 | 28.9 | Numbers not known |
Lancashire | C | 1328.5 | 825.6 | Some "CBA" roads near Blackpool |
Liverpool | C | 60.4 | 37.5 | Numbers not known |
Manchester | ? | |||
Oldham | ? | |||
Rochdale | U | |||
Salford | ? | |||
Sefton | C | 57.7 | 35.8 | Numbers not known |
St Helens | ? | |||
Stockport | C | 17.1 | 10.6 | List might not be complete. |
Tameside | C | |||
Trafford | C | |||
Warrington | C | |||
Westmorland and Furness | C | 1293.7 | 803.5 | Numbering shared with Cumberland |
Wigan | ? | |||
Wirral | C | 46.1 | 28.6 | Numbers not known |
England - North East
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Darlington | C | 99.9 | 62.0 | Also has ZC roads |
Durham | C | 677.0 | 420.5 | |
Gateshead | C | |||
Hartlepool | C | 21.6 | 13.4 | |
Middlesbrough | C | 34.6 | 21.5 | |
Newcastle upon Tyne | C | |||
North Tyneside | ? | |||
Northumberland | C | 1498.0 | 930.5 | |
Redcar and Cleveland | C | 46.5 | 28.9 | |
South Tyneside | C | |||
Stockton-on-Tees | C | 100.3 | 62.3 | |
Sunderland | C | 59.7 | 37.1 |
England - Yorkshire & Humber
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Barnsley | C | 139.4 | 86.6 | |
Bradford | C | 121.4 | 75.4 | |
Calderdale | C | 81.0 | 51.3 | |
Doncaster | C | 257.8 | 160.1 | |
East Riding of Yorkshire | C | |||
Kirklees | C | 160.0 | 99.4 | |
Kingston upon Hull | C | 47.2 | 29.3 | |
Leeds | C | 164.6 | 102.2 | |
North Lincolnshire | C | 336.0 | 208.7 | |
North East Lincolnshire | C | 80.1 | 49.8 | |
North Yorkshire | C | 2785.0 | 1729.8 | |
Rotherham | C | 177.3 | 110.1 | |
Sheffield | C | 210.3 | 130.6 | |
Wakefield | C | 130.8 | 81.2 | |
York | C | 134.5 | 83.5 |
England - West Midlands
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Birmingham | ? | |||
Coventry | C | 54.2 | 33.7 | |
Dudley | C | 39.3 | 24.4 | |
Herefordshire | C | 1072.5 | 666.1 | Uses the C1xxx series |
Sandwell | ? | |||
Shropshire | C | |||
Solihull | C | 88.0 | 55.7 | Uses the USRN numbers |
Staffordshire | C | 1353.0 | 841.4 | |
Stoke-on-Trent | C | 32.3 | 20.1 | |
Telford and Wrekin | ? | |||
Walsall | C | 11.0 | 6.8 | |
Warwickshire | C | 824.0 | 511.8 | |
Wolverhampton | U | 32.5 | 20.2 | |
Worcestershire | C | 1066.2 | 662.2 | Uses the C2xxx series |
England - East Midlands
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Derby | C | 54.4 | 33.8 | Numbering shared with Derbyshire |
Derbyshire | C | 1120.2 | 695.8 | Numbering shared with Derby. No official listing - some roads will be missing. |
Leicester | C | 33.0 | 20.5 | Numbering shared with Leicestershire. |
Leicestershire | C | 1295.0 | 804.3 | |
Lincolnshire | C | 2917.6 | 1812.2 | |
North Northamptonshire | C | 463.0 | 287.6 | Uses the original Northamptonshire numbering |
Nottingham | C | 39.3 | 24.4 | Numbering shared with Nottinghamshire |
Nottinghamshire | C | 915.5 | 568.6 | |
Rutland | C | 127.6 | 79.3 | Numbering shared with Leicestershire. Some roads still unidentified |
West Northamptonshire | C | 653.0 | 405.6 | Uses the original Northamptonshire numbering |
England - East
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Bedford | C | 220.0 | 136.6 | |
Cambridgeshire | C | 1090.1 | 677.1 | |
Central Bedfordshire | C | 329.7 | 204.8 | |
Essex | ? | |||
Luton | C | 9.5 | 5.9 | |
Norfolk | C | |||
Peterborough | C | 186.3 | 115.7 | |
Southend-on-Sea | ? | |||
Suffolk | C | |||
Thurrock | ? |
England - South West
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Bath and North East Somerset | C | 286.9 | 178.2 | |
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | C | 109.6 | 68.1 | |
Bristol | C | 68.7 | 42.7 | |
Cornwall | C | |||
Devon | C | |||
Dorset | C | |||
Gloucestershire | C | 1458.3 | 905.8 | Total is for all known routes, some have not been found yet. |
Isles of Scilly | ? | 0.0 | 0.0 | No C roads known to exist |
North Somerset | ? | |||
Plymouth | C | |||
Somerset | C | |||
South Gloucestershire | C | 270.5 | 168.0 | |
Swindon | C | 36.2 | 22.5 | |
Torbay | C | |||
Wiltshire | C |
England - South East
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Bracknell | C | 57.8 | 35.9 | Numbers not known. |
Brighton and Hove | C | 34.6 | 21.5 | |
Buckinghamshire | C & MC | 795.0 | 493.8 | |
East Sussex | C | |||
Hampshire | C | |||
Hertfordshire | C | 798.4 | 495.9 | |
Isle of Wight | C | 180.7 | 112.2 | |
Kent | C | 1849.0 | 1148.5 | |
Medway | C | 78.6 | 48.8 | |
Milton Keynes | C | 215.4 | 133.8 | Some H & V roads also have a C designation |
Oxfordshire | C | |||
Portsmouth | C | 19.1 | 11.9 | |
Reading | C | 59.7 | 37.1 | |
Slough | C | 2.4 | 1.5 | |
Southampton | C | 54.5 | 33.9 | |
Surrey | C | |||
West Berkshire | C | 391.1 | 243.0 | |
West Sussex | C | |||
Windsor and Maidenhead | C | 104.3 | 64.8 | |
Wokingham | C |
England - London
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Barnet | ||||
Barking and Dagenham | ||||
Bexley | ||||
Bromley | ||||
Croydon | ||||
Ealing | ||||
Enfield | ||||
Greenwich | ||||
Hackney | ||||
Hammersmith and Fulham | ||||
Haringey | ||||
Harrow | ||||
Havering | ||||
Hillingdon | Various | 50.7 | 31.5 | Prefix relects former districts |
Hounslow | C | |||
Islington | ||||
Lambeth | C | |||
Kensington and Chelsea | ||||
Kingston upon Thames | ||||
Merton | ||||
Newham | ||||
Redbridge | ||||
Richmond upon Thames | ||||
Southwark | C | 37.4 | 23.2 | |
Sutton | C | 18.2 | 11.3 | |
Tower Hamlets | ||||
Waltham Forest | ||||
Wandsworth | ? | 0.0 | 0.0 | No Class III roads in council area |
Westminster | C | 28.8 | 17.9 |
Northern Ireland
All roads in Northern Ireland are maintained by Transport NI, see Transport NI (Class III roads) for Class III roads in Northern Ireland.
County | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Antrim | C | 925.6 | 574.9 | |
Armagh | C | 639.0 | 396.9 | |
Down | C | 991.2 | 615.7 | |
Fermanagh | C | 334.2 | 207.6 | |
Londonderry | C | 524.5 | 325.8 | |
Tyrone | C | 1133.7 | 704.2 |
Scotland
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Aberdeen | C | 89.7 | 55.7 | Uses a suffix depending on the former county council |
Aberdeenshire | C | 1417.0 | 880.2 | Uses a suffix depending on the former county council |
Angus | C | 452.7 | 281.2 | |
Argyll & Bute | C | 409.3 | 254.2 | Also has a single "UC" |
Borders | C | 766.8 | 476.3 | |
Clackmannanshire | C | 24.6 | 15.3 | |
Dumfries & Galloway | C | 1185.0 | 736.0 | Uses a suffix depending on the former district council system |
Dundee | C | 93.7 | 58.2 | |
Eilean Siar | C | 161.0 | 100.0 | |
East Ayrshire | C | 205.8 | 127.8 | |
East Dunbartonshire | C | 27.0 | 16.8 | |
East Lothian | C | 195.1 | 121.2 | |
East Renfrewshire | C | 83.7 | 52.0 | |
Edinburgh | ZC | 107.1 | 66.5 | |
Falkirk | C | 77.1 | 47.9 | |
Fife | C | 316.0 | 196.3 | |
Glasgow | C | 226.0 | 140.4 | Numbers not known |
Highland | C | 1445.2 | 897.6 | Uses a suffix depending on the former district system |
Inverclyde | C | 43.6 | 27.1 | |
Midlothian | C | 68.7 | 42.7 | |
Moray | C | 357.6 | 222.1 | Uses a suffix depending on the former county |
North Ayrshire | C & U | 217.5 | 135.1 | Also uses CL |
North Lanarkshire | C | 169.5 | 105.3 | |
Orkney | C | 146.2 | 90.8 | |
Perth & Kinross | C | 623.7 | 387.4 | |
Renfrewshire | C | 127.8 | 79.4 | |
Shetland | C | 198.5 | 123.3 | |
South Ayrshire | C | 210.9 | 131.0 | |
South Lanarkshire | C | 385.8 | 239.7 | |
Stirling | C | 161.4 | 100.3 | |
West Dunbartonshire | C | 26.2 | 16.2 | |
West Lothian | C | 110.9 | 68.9 |
Wales
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Blaenau Gwent | C | |||
Bridgend | ? | |||
Caerphilly | ? | |||
Cardiff | C | |||
Carmarthenshire | C | |||
Ceredigion | C | |||
Conwy | C | |||
Denbighshire | C | |||
Flintshire | C | |||
Gwynedd | C | |||
Isle of Anglesey | C | 360.9 | 224.2 | |
Merthyr Tydfil | C | 32.5 | 20.2 | |
Monmouthshire | R | 420.7 | 261.3 | Also has some ZR roads |
Neath Port Talbot | C | |||
Newport | R | 133.2 | 82.7 | Numbering shared with Monmouthshire and Torfaen Councils |
Pembrokeshire | C | |||
Powys | C | |||
Rhondda Cynon Taf | C | 116.1 | 72.1 | |
Swansea | C & ZC | |||
Torfaen | R | 55.5 | 34.7 | Numbering shared with Monmouthshire and Newport Councils |
Vale of Glamorgan | ? | |||
Wrexham | C |
Other
Highway Authority | Prefix | Network Length | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
kilometres | miles | |||
Jersey | C | 33.8 | 24.1 | |
Isle of Man | C | |||
National Highways | C |
External links
References
- ↑ Roads in England and Wales 1956-57 - Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (1958) page: 11
- ↑ https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38236
- ↑ https://www.roads.org.uk/photo/c-roads