Consultation Package

Consultation Package

Letter to consultees

4/38
St Christopher House
Southwark Street
LONDON SE1 0TE

Direct Line: 0171 921 4212
Fax: 0171 921 3982

12 September 2000

Dear Sir or Madam

THE CONTROL OF DEVELOPMENT ON TRUNK ROADS - CONSULTATION DRAFT

Since 1994, the Secretary of State's responsibility for the day to day operation of the trunk road network has been exercised by the Highways Agency. That will continue to be the case but, in the July 1998 White Paper "A New Deal for Transport : Better for Everyone", the Government set the Agency new objectives. The White Paper redefined the Agency's strategic aim as being "to contribute to sustainable development by maintaining, improving and operating the trunk road network in support of integrated transport and land use policies". It also recognised the contribution that development control policy could make to the achievement of that aim, and undertook to issue more detailed advice in due course.

The attached draft circular, issued on a consultative basis, delivers on that commitment. It updates earlier advice on the highway, and wider transport, considerations which planning authorities will be expected to take into account when assessing planning applications for development affecting trunk roads. It also gives guidance on when, and the extent to which, it may be necessary for highway reasons to restrict such development. The advice is confined to trunk roads, that is, roads for which the Secretary of State is the highway authority. More general guidance on highway considerations in development control is given in Planning Policy Guidance Note 13 (Transport).

The circular also covers the arrangements under section 278 of the Highways Act 1980 through which the Agency will secure developer funding for highway improvements and commuted sums for their future maintenance.

It supersedes guidance given in Circular Roads 4/88 and 6/91 both of which are to be cancelled in favour of this circular. It also builds on the guidance published in conjunction with the statement of 10 July 1996 by the then Minister for Roads. Unlike CR 4/88, this Circular does not deal with policy on service areas on all-purpose trunk roads. We intend to consolidate advice on service area issues in a revision of CR 1/94 which will address service provision on both motorways and other trunk roads.

Comments are invited by 30 October on this draft guidance, which also appears on our web site www.highways.gov.uk. I would be grateful if you could reference your comments to the appropriate paragraph number.

Responses should be sent to:

Paul Tucker
QS TSE (LUS)
Rm 5/44
St Christopher House
Southwark St
London
SE1 OTE
Tel: 020 7921 4339
E-mail: paul.tucker@highways.gsi.gov.uk

Copies of all responses received will be placed in the HA Library and Information Centre in St Christopher House, and can be accessed throughout the consultation period by prior appointment (tel: 0207 921 4614) unless respondents ask for them to be treated as confidential.

Yours sincerely

Mike Garnham
Divisional Director (Acting)
Traffic, Safety & Environment

Letter to consultees

List of principle organisations consulted

Consultation draft - distribution list

List of principle organisations consulted

Draft circular

Introduction and powers

  1. The Highways Agency is responsible for implementing the Government's trunk road development control policy on behalf of the Secretary of State.
  2. The Agency employs two principal means of applying that policy:
    • through participation in the preparation of development plans in order to help establish the background against which planning decisions are taken; and,
    • by use of the powers conferred by the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995 - the GDPO - to respond to individual planning applications as they arise, and as referred by local planning authorities under articles 10 and 15.
    This Circular is concerned primarily with the second of these.
  3. Article 14 of the GDPO empowers the Secretary of State to direct either that a local planning authority shall not grant planning permission for a particular proposed development, or that it may do so only subject to any conditions which he may stipulate. When notified of, or consulted on, an application for planning permission the Agency will therefore take one of the following courses of action:
    • offer no comment;
    • recommend that planning permission should either be refused, or granted only subject to conditions;
    • direct conditions to be attached to any planning permission which may be granted (the effect of which will, most commonly, be to require the developer to carry out the highway improvements necessary to cater safely and efficiently for anticipated traffic levels);
    • direct that planning permission be refused.
  4. These powers form the basis of the Agency's involvement in the control of development affecting all-purpose trunk roads and motorways. (By "all-purpose trunk roads", throughout this Circular, are meant trunk roads which are not motorways). However, the Government's integrated transport policies and the Agency's new role as network operator have changed the background against which those powers are exercised. This Circular describes the policy and principles which will guide the Agency in exercising the Secretary of State's powers, and in securing developer contributions towards trunk road improvements, in support of integrated transport policies and sustainable development.

The Strategic Context

  1. This Circular is concerned principally with the way in which planning authorities will be expected to deal with individual planning applications in the context of the Government's policies for integrated transport and sustainable development. It does not therefore attempt to deal in detail with the part those policies will have to play in establishing the planning background against which applications will be assessed. Advice on these issues may be found in PPG11 on Regional Planning, PPG12 on Development Plans and PPG13 on Transport, as well as in the relevant good practice guides including that on local transport plans and the forthcoming guidance on transport assessments.
  2. For the purposes of this guidance it will be sufficient to note that, in drawing up development plans and contributing to local transport strategies, local planning authorities will be expected to have considered the way in which transport needs will be addressed. This will include consideration of the most effective means of dealing with traffic moving to, from, and along trunk roads where such roads are likely to be affected by development plan proposals. Of particular importance is that trunk roads should not be regarded as a convenient means of dealing with local problems, for example by proposing additional junctions on them simply in order to relieve traffic pressures within the local area. These considerations underline the need for full and early consultation with the relevant Area Team within the Network and Customer Services Division of the Agency as regional and local planning strategies are being drawn up and as individual planning applications come forward. A list of NCS Area Team e-mail addresses is available on the contacts section of the Agency's Website and area team contact telephone numbers can be obtained through the main switchboard number (0645 55 65 75). These are also the Agency contacts to whom local planning authorities should refer copies of planning applications, development plans and other associated papers requiring the Agency's attention.

Development control within an integrated transport policy

  1. The 1998 Transport White Paper set out a new approach to the application of development control policy. It stated that, in responding to development proposals near trunk roads the Agency would, as in the past, reflect the context established by regional planning guidance and development plans. For the future, however, the Agency will go further and seek to work with local authorities, developers and public transport operators to take greater account of transport options that are sustainable, including those that can be secured through the use of planning conditions and obligations. In addition, sustainable regional transport strategies and local transport plans will provide more comprehensive information to support development control decisions, as will transport assessments and green travel plans.
  2. This is not to say that the Agency will in future itself seek to take decisions which are properly the responsibility of planning authorities. It will act as an honest broker in ensuring that alternatives to serving a development by road are fully explored. It will also encourage development towards locations, and particularly previously developed sites, which can readily be served by modes other than the car and lorry. Decisions will, nevertheless, continue to be primarily matters for planning authorities.

Access to Trunk roads

  1. In order to maintain safety and the free flow of traffic, policy in the past has been to discourage the formation of new accesses to trunk roads. For the future, and in keeping with the objectives of an integrated transport policy, the Agency will adopt a graduated policy on the provision of new connections to trunk roads or the intensified use of existing ones. Access will be most severely restricted in the case of motorways and high standard core routes of the greatest strategic importance. Elsewhere, and particularly in urban locations, there will be a less restrictive approach subject to consultation with the local authorities concerned. Where access is permitted, and regardless of the status of the road, developers will be required to ensure that their proposals comply in all respects with the relevant Agency design standards and other requirements and to submit the scheme for a full road safety audit. Developers should consult the Agency at an early stage to discuss technical requirements and the scope of technical assessments. Details of the Agency's requirements for access design are contained in the Design Manual for Roads & Bridges (DMRB), and further advice is available from the Area Team concerned. The Agency will retain the right to direct refusal of any planning application which fails to meet these requirements or which, for any other reason, raises significant road safety concerns.

    Access to motorways
    The only direct access to motorways will be by grade separated junctions from other trunk routes or major local roads except in the case of motorway service areas, maintenance compounds or, exceptionally, other major transport interchanges. This reflects the need, in the interests of safety and the free flow of traffic, for severe restrictions on the number of motorway accesses. The Agency will therefore direct local planning authorities not to grant planning permission for applications incorporating access proposals which would breach this policy.

    Even in the case of those developments where direct access to motorways is in principle permissible, access will not normally be allowed to motorways of dual five lane standard.

    Access to all-purpose trunk roads
    Research shows that the formation of new accesses to trunk roads is liable to lead to a greater risk of accident. Vehicles about to leave the main road are bound to slow down in relation to the higher traffic speeds of those staying on the road, while vehicles joining the road will take time to accelerate to the speed of traffic already on it. Tail end collisions can take place in these circumstances. Safety issues also arise in the case of an access which provides for a right turning movement across the opposing traffic flow. There is then the added hazard of collision between a fast moving vehicle and one that is effectively stationary. Research also supports the view that the risk of accidents from a given number of joining or leaving vehicle movements is reduced if they are concentrated on a limited number of junctions and accesses. It provides support for the view that where a number of developments are permitted, accidents are less likely if access is via a service road which then has a single point of access to the main road.

    The highest standard and most strategic routes on the core network will be subject to restrictions on access almost as stringent as those applying to motorways. At the opposite end of the scale, the policy with respect to single carriageway non-core trunk roads in urban areas and with a speed limit of 40 mph or less will be much less restrictive, though safety considerations and the need for accesses to comply fully with standards will remain of paramount importance. Between these two extremes, there will be a graduated approach to the formation of new accesses or the intensified use of existing ones depending on the status and standard of the trunk road concerned. It will therefore be important for intending developers to discuss their proposals with the Agency at an early stage.

Core and non-core roads

  1. The 1998 White Paper identified a number of nationally important routes in England which were grouped together to form a core trunk road network. The remainder of the existing trunk road network serves mainly local and regional traffic and was designated "non-core". The White Paper noted that these non-core roads would be more appropriately managed by local highway authorities, allowing decisions about them to be taken locally and facilitating better integration of local transport and land use planning issues. Nevertheless, until these roads are formally de-trunked, the Secretary of State will remain the highway authority for them. The Agency will therefore retain the right to intervene where there are safety concerns or where developments accessing a non-core road would have consequential effects on the core network. However, in the case of non-core roads, the Agency will take account of the views of the local highway authority as reflected in regional planning guidance, the development plan and the local transport plan.
  2. DBFO (Design, Build, Finance and Operate) Roads will be subject to the same development control policies as conventionally funded roads. Equally, the principles governing section 278 agreements for DBFO roads will be the same as those applying to other roads and described in the second part of this Circular. The involvement of the DBFO concessionaire is, nevertheless, likely to require some changes to the detail of section 278 agreements and underlines the need for early discussion with the Agency of cases that may affect DBFO roads.

Control of Development - The Policy in Practice

  1. Articles 10 and 15 of the GDPO set out the circumstances in which local planning authorities are required to refer to the Secretary of State applications for development affecting trunk roads. Article 10 requires consultation in cases where there will be a material increase in trunk road traffic. For these purposes, an increase of 5% or more will always be material while smaller increases may be, depending on circumstances.
  2. In practice, however, the Agency will be concerned with any proposal which would have an effect on the trunk road and regardless of the speed limit applying. This may come about as a result of proposals which involve either:
    • a new direct access from a development onto a trunk road;
    • a new access onto a local road which itself feeds into a trunk road (termed, for the purposes of this Circular, an indirect access); or,
    • intensified use of an existing access on to a trunk road.
    In addition, local planning authorities are advised to consult the Agency over any development which may have a consequence for trunk road traffic. Examples are golf courses, earth mounds and wind farms in the vicinity of a trunk road.
  3. Where a planning application includes proposals which fall into any of these categories, the Agency will first wish to satisfy itself that any new access is one which is permissible in principle in the light of the policies set out in paragraph 9 above. It will also wish to establish that, where it is practical to do so, measures are or will be in place which would support the use of public transport, cycling and walking. It is at this stage, in particular, that the Agency will take active steps to bring together developers, local planning authorities, transport providers and others as appropriate with a view to determining the contribution that these other modes could make to meeting the overall transport needs of the development. Where such alternatives have been secured, the Agency will take these into account in assessing the scale of, or need for, relevant highway works. Planning conditions directed by the Agency will rarely be an appropriate means of ensuring that the necessary provision is made; the principal means of securing alternative transport provision will therefore be agreements under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The Agency will take a close interest in agreements of this sort but, because S.106 does not extend to Government Departments, cannot itself be a party to them.
  4. The contribution that other transport modes can make to meeting the transport needs of the development will form an important element of the transport assessment (TA) which developers will be expected to produce. Whatever the contribution of these other modes, however, the majority of significant developments will continue to have some impact on the operation of the trunk road network. The Agency will therefore require developers to provide sufficient information, whether in the TA or separately, to allow this impact to be properly assessed. The information required will vary according to the circumstances of the case but is likely to include as a minimum:
    • details of measures to maximise access by public transport, walking and cycling;
    • proposals for minimising the number and impact of motorised journeys associated with the development;
    • the projected resulting modal split of journeys to and from the site;
    • detailed information on the highway works expected to be necessary to cater for the agreed residual car and lorry based movements;
    • Details of parking and servicing arrangements.
    Consistent with procedures for appraising other transport investment, the TA will be expected to adopt the new approach to appraisal (NATA). NATA is designed to provide a clear and open framework, based on the five objectives of accessibility, safety, economy, environment, and integration, against which decisions on the transport issues raised by development proposals can be made. The Agency will offer assistance to, and will work with, developers in the preparation of their TAs where appropriate.
  5. The TA will form the basis for the Agency's response to the proposed development. It should therefore assess the impact that development-related and other "background" traffic will have on the trunk road network at opening year, fifteen years after opening, and at any other year in between when traffic conditions are predicted to be at their worst. Where the assessed traffic flows exceed the capacity of the trunk roads concerned at any time within that fifteen year period, the Agency will direct that a condition be attached to any planning permission that may be granted. The effect of the condition will be to specify the improvements which will be required both to accommodate this traffic and to ensure the safety of all other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists. Conditions will generally take the form of a requirement that the highway works be complete before work on the development can begin. The normal means by which developers will redeem the condition will be a formal agreement with the Secretary of State under section 278 of the Highways Act 1980. Section 278 agreements are dealt with in detail in the second half of this Circular.
  6. The works specified for the point where development-related traffic first accesses the trunk road network will be sufficient to accommodate all traffic fifteen years after the development opens. Where further highway improvements are required up- or down-stream of this point, the works will be to a standard capable of ensuring that conditions on the trunk road are no worse at any time during the fifteen year assessment period than if the development had not taken place. In cases where development traffic first reaches the trunk road network at a roundabout or grade separated junction, developers will be required to ensure that the whole of that junction - including, for example, its connecting slip roads and associated merges and diverges - is improved to full fifteen year standards. In addition to securing whatever highway works are required under these arrangements, developers will normally be required to pay a commuted sum for their future maintenance. Only where it is not possible to identify reasonably practicable highway works capable of safely accommodating the assessed future traffic flows safely and efficiently will the Agency expect to resort to directing that planning permission should not be granted.
  7. The requirement for highway improvements capable of accommodating all traffic fifteen years after the development opens will be the Agency's general approach. There may, however, be occasions when the improvements that would be needed to achieve this standard will not be appropriate. Examples are:
    • where the scale of the improvement would be out of balance with the capacity provided on adjacent sections of the trunk road network, taking account of planned improvements included in the Government's targeted programme of improvements;
    • cases in which the improvements would be more extensive than the Agency would itself promote given local circumstances and in particular taking account of their environmental impact;
    • cases where improvements affect lower standard and, in particular, urban trunk roads;
    • cases which fall within areas granted Objective 1 status.
  8. In these and other comparable instances the Agency may be prepared, subject to the circumstances of the case, to accept a lower standard of improvement without compromising safety. It may, for example, accept a solution which leaves conditions on the trunk road no worse than if the development had not taken place. As with the provision of accesses themselves, however, the Agency will take a graduated approach. A lower standard of improvement will rarely, if ever, be appropriate in the case of the highest standard core trunk roads of the greatest strategic importance; it may, on the other hand, be acceptable on lower standard trunk roads and the less strategic routes.

The Department's Targeted Programme of Improvements (TPI)

  1. The Secretary of State's responsibility for the trunk road network makes it necessary for him to satisfy himself on the merits of all trunk road schemes. The 1998 Roads Review listed 37 TPI schemes which complement Local Network Management Schemes (works costing £5 million or less), normally approved by the Agency. Although section 278 schemes are funded entirely by the private sector, the Agency will need to be satisfied that they do not conflict with wider Government policies on transport and the environment and that they satisfy the same criteria as apply to public sector trunk road schemes. An environmental assessment will be necessary for both the development and the related trunk road improvement works.

Internal Layout of Developments

  1. The Agency's principal development control responsibility is to ensure that traffic can move safely on the trunk road network. Details of the internal layout of a development will not therefore generally be its prime concern, though planning authorities and the Secretary of State will expect proposals brought before them to be safe and to comply with the relevant standards.

Section 278 Agreements - The Statutory Framework

  1. Agreements for the private sector funding of trunk road works are made under section 278 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended by section 23 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. A section 278 agreement is essentially a financial mechanism : it is not a contract to carry out works. Neither does it mean that the Agency will support a developer in any planning application or subsequent proceedings. (The planning decision is in any case likely to hinge on wider planning considerations). The provisions of a typical agreement are set out in the Annex to this Circular. The following paragraphs give guidance on the application of section 278 and the steps which will need to be taken by the developer and others when such an agreement is contemplated. The guidance applies equally to any stretch of trunk road for which a Design Build Finance & Operate (DBFO) contract has been awarded.
  2. 23. A developer may enter into a section 278 agreement with a Local Highway Authority for improvement works to local roads, as well as with the Secretary of State for works to trunk roads. Local Planning Authorities may also enter into an agreement with a developer under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, though the section 106 power does not extend to the Secretary of State.

Conditions to be met

  1. The following conditions must be met before the Agency will enter into a section 278 agreement on behalf of the Secretary of State:
    • the developer must either have signed an abortive costs undertaking backed by a surety covering all abortive costs incurred by the Agency, or have provided a financial deposit based on the estimated costs to the Agency during the period up to the signing of the agreement;
    • the Agency must be satisfied that the agreement will be of benefit to the public;
    • the developer must normally be in a position to convey to the Secretary of State the freehold, free of charge and other encumbrances, of all the land required for the works which are to be funded by the developer. The Agency will not let the contract for the works until the required land is in the Secretary of State's possession. Section 278(4) does grant the Secretary of State powers of compulsory purchase but these will be used only in the most exceptional cases. Developers should be aware in any case that processing compulsory purchase orders is seldom a quick or straightforward process; that objections are the rule rather than the exception; and that they commonly result in a public inquiry. The section 278(4) powers are therefore likely to be used only where the works concerned would be of particular benefit to the public and where the developer can show that he has exhausted all other reasonable methods of acquiring the land. All the costs of using such powers will be borne by the developer;
    • the Secretary of State, acting either directly through the Agency or through the Agency's agent (whether public or private sector) will normally be the employer of the main contractor for the trunk road works including design, preparation and supervision though, under certain circumstances and subject to suitable controls, consideration may be given to the developer fulfilling this role;

Costs to be paid by the Developer

  1. It is a fundamental principle of all section 278 agreements that the developer must bear the full cost of the works. These will normally include :-

    • an administration fee. This covers both the design, preparation and supervision of the works and the actual administrative expenses of the Agency and its agents. The initial fee calculation will generally be expressed as a percentage of the estimated works costs (excluding VAT) though actual costs will be used where these can be identified. The level of the administration fee will vary according to the nature and complexity of the tasks required under this heading. The need or otherwise for orders and public inquiries and the cost of the works are therefore among the factors that will be taken into consideration. Developers should be aware that low value schemes may require a higher percentage fee to cover Agency costs. As a guide, developers can expect to pay an initial fee followed by adjustment up or down when actual costs are known;
    • costs incurred in meeting any claims arising from the works, including claims under Part 1 of the Land Compensation Act 1973 (as amended by the Local Government Planning and Land Act 1980); legal costs involved in the transfer of the land or the full cost to the Secretary of State of exercising his compulsory purchase powers (including those of any public inquiry and High Court challenge); the costs of any agreement with the Local Authority under section 4 of The Highways Act 1980; and the costs of any Highway or Traffic Regulation Order;
    • in all cases, regardless of the nature of the works, a sum equal to the non recoverable VAT incurred on the costs listed above;
    • a commuted lump sum to cover future maintenance of the trunk road works.
  2. Provision will usually be made for staged payments of the estimated costs, with adjustment in the light of final outturn. Payment in advance will be required in order to ensure that the Agency remains in funds.
  3. The Agency will seek a surety or bond to secure performance of the developer's obligations under the agreement, if full payment is not made on signing it. This will replace the earlier undertaking to meet the Agency's abortive costs up to the signing of the section 278 agreement.

Form of agreement

  1. The Annex to this Circular sets out the key elements likely to feature in a section 278 agreement. The Agency's lawyers will supply the first draft of the proposed agreement to the developer's solicitors, or other appointed representatives. The terms of the agreement will indicate the conditions to which the agreement will be subject, one of which will be a requirement that the developer shall have secured the necessary planning permissions as well as due authorisation for the Secretary of State to carry out the works. It will also regulate the amount and timing of the payments by the developer to the Agency and any relevant adjustments in the light of outturn costs; provide for termination of the agreement on either side, subject to payment of the Agency's abortive costs; and specify the works in question while permitting the Secretary of State to vary the works as necessary. A shortened version of the agreement may be appropriate in cases involving minor trunk road improvements, provided the above principles are not compromised.

Timing of Agreement - Interaction with other procedures

  1. Agreements may be made at any of a number of stages depending on circumstances. In most cases they will follow grant of planning permission, though occasionally it may be appropriate to conclude an agreement before the planning permission stage. In that event the agreement will be conditional on planning permission being granted. This is likely to be the case, for example, where planning applications are to be determined following call-in by the Secretary of State or on appeal.
  2. 30. Because section 278 does not in itself authorise the Agency to carry out trunk road works, other authority in the form of Orders may be needed. In many cases the proposed highway works will be ones which the Secretary of State is authorised to carry out under his general powers in Part V of the Highways Act 1980. Otherwise, authorisation will involve the making of Orders under, for example, sections 10 or 14 of the Highways Act 1980. In these cases the Orders can be made only following public advertisement of a draft and, where a public inquiry has taken place, consideration of the Inspector's report. The Secretary of State cannot fetter the exercise of his discretion with regard to the making of such Orders. Accordingly, where authorisation to execute the works requires the making of a statutory Order, the agreement will need to be conditional on that authorisation being obtained and on the Secretary of State deciding to implement it. In any case where the Secretary of State's land acquisition powers under Part XII of the Highways Act 1980 are to be used, the agreement will need to be conditional upon the successful processing of an Order under those powers.

Steps to be taken by developer

  1. Developers contemplating a section 278 agreement should make an early approach to the appropriate Agency NCS Area Team (see para 6) to open preliminary discussions. It is important that approaches of this sort are made in good time in view of the stages which have to be completed before an agreement can take effect and the relevant trunk road works carried out. On the other hand it is desirable, if the Agency is to give a reliable indication of its view on the possibility of an agreement, that the proposals should be sufficiently worked up for trunk road implications to be assessed and the location and nature of works determined.
  2. If it is established in the initial discussions that the Agency is prepared to consider further the possibility of a section 278 agreement, the next step will be for the developer to submit further details. In particular, he will need to provide:
    • an assessment of the extent of the proposed works including outline plans;
    • costings based on suitable professional advice;
    • a proposed timescale; and
    • the name of a consultant approved by the Agency to design the works.

Arrangements for the carrying out of works

  1. Since the Agency is legally responsible for all trunk road works, it follows that it will usually insist on acting as formal employer of the contractor carrying out those works (but see 24 above). Similarly, any consultant engaged in design and supervision will be employed by the Agency rather than the developer. Where the developer is wholly funding the scheme, the Agency will allow the developer's consultants to design the works subject to approval of the consultants' competence but will need to arrange for the work to be independently validated at the developer's expense. In these cases the Agency will be prepared to consider using the developer's construction contractor subject to:
    • EC requirements on competitive tendering;
    • the contractor being pre-qualified by the Agency; and,
    • the Agency entering into a separate contract with the contractor, usually subject to one of its normal forms of procurement, for the trunk road works.
  2. It should be stressed that, if the estimated cost of the works contract (including VAT) exceeds the threshold for EC advertising (approximately £4 million at the time of writing) the contract must be advertised under EU Official Journal procedures and responses considered in the usual way.
  3. The Agency may, on seeing further details, conclude that a developer's proposals should not be taken forward. Should there nevertheless appear to be a realistic prospect of concluding an acceptable solution following further discussions, the Agency will secure an undertaking to cover abortive costs before going further. Only at that stage would the Agency proceed to the stage of drawing up further information and documentation or a section 278 agreement.
  4. Preparatory work may have to be carried out on a contingency basis pending formal grant of planning permission or completion of other procedures. It is however desirable, notwithstanding the risk of abortive costs, for preparatory work to begin early as possible to avoid delay at later stages.
  5. The Agency's Regional NCS Area Teams will be the developer's first point of contact in discussing the possibility of a section 278 agreement. Its Regional Project Services secretariat will usually take matters forward thereafter. Once they have the information necessary to prepare a first draft of an agreement, the Agency's legal advisors will normally expect to issue that draft within about four weeks. Progress thereafter will inevitably depend on the complexity of the works involved and the developer's ability to provide any further details necessary to allow the agreement to be completed.

    Inquiries on the content of this circular should be addressed to Mike Ainsworth (020 7921 4082) or Paul Tucker (020 7921 4339) of the Highways Agency.
Draft circular

Annex

Key elements likely to feature in a section 278 agreement.

It is not feasible to give an example of a "standard" section 278 agreement because the text of each agreement needs to reflect the individual circumstances of each case. However, a feature common to all of them is the need to protect the interests of the Secretary of State as trunk road highway authority. A typical agreement, accordingly, may be expected to:

Annex