Location: Business » Planning » Development Control » Customer Guides » Highway Design » Highways Development Control Advice and Service

Highways Development Control Advice and Service

As a unitary Authority, the Council acts as both Local Planning Authority and Highway Authority. The Highway Authority is a statutory consultee for all Planning Applications received by the Council (around 3,500 per annum). Officers in the Highways Development Control Team carry out this function.

When considering any application and/or development proposals, the Highways Officers' aim is to ensure that all new developments carried out within the Borough are assessed in terms of highway safety and any appropriate measures put in place.

Where necessary, and where guided by the Supplementary Planning Document for Developer Contributions, developer contributions are sought to facilitate the provision of a safe access to the development and for improvements to the highway infrastructure. This is done via an agreement with the developer and/or landowner following a planning condition or legal agreement where permission is granted and can be on the form of funds provided to the Borough Council or physical construction of works by the developer usually in close proximity to the development.

What do we do?
What are the main safety issues? - visibility, turning traffic, design, increased capacity, parking
Other considerations
Developer funded works to overcome highway objection
Housing/Industrial Estate Roads
Pre-planning Advice

What do we do?

As part of the planning process, the planning authority consults the Highway Officers. These officers have 21 days in which to make a formal response to normal householder applications and 35 days for more complex applications. In some cases further information is required in order that a full and balanced response from the Highways Officer is provided.

The Highway Officers have 3 options:

Offer no objections to the proposal - where the application is considered to have no detrimental affect on highway safety.
Request planning conditions - where the application will be acceptable subject to certain conditions, which must be reasonable, legal and enforceable.
Request that the application be refused on the grounds of highway safety - such requests are made on the understanding that the reasons given could be challenged on planning appeal.

What are the main safety issues?

Visibility

Vehicles using a new or intensified access, need adequate unobstructed visibility of traffic, pedastrians and cyclists. The recommended distance depends on the speed of the traffic on that road.

Turning traffic

Where a new or intensified access is proposed particularly on a fast and/or busy section of road, turning traffic can be detrimental to highway safety. Each application is assessed on it's own merits.

Design

New development will be required to be designed in acordance with the RBWM Design Guide. This guide reflects the government's aspirations set out in Design Bulletin 32 and its companion guide. "Places, Streets and Movement".

Increased capacity

Where existing roads and in particular junctions are at capacity, further development will be resisted. Developers considering development in urban areas will often be required to provide a Transport Assessment as part of their application.

Parking

Where a development has insufficient or too much parking for the traffic that it will generate, consideration will be given as to the effect on the adjoining highways. Transport Assessments should also cover this point. For further information, please see the Parking Strategy (May 2004) pdf.

Other Considerations

Highway Officers are aware that there are many factors (in particular economic benefits to the Council) to be considered when assessing the impact of any application and each site is evaluated on its merits. Officers are prepared to consider any representations, however, it must be remembered that in the final decision making process the safety of the users of the highway will be given first priority by the Highway Authority.

The Local Planning Authority makes the final decsion and they can take other factors concerning applications into account.

Developer Funded works to overcome Highway Objection (section 278 Agreements - Highways Act 1980)

Where the highway objections to an application can be overcome by some physical highway measures, developers can enter an Agreement that requires them to pay for such works. These works include such things as:

roundabouts
traffic signals
right turn lanes
passing bays etc

For traffic signals and other major structures, as well as items of street furniture, commuted maintenance sums will also be charged to the developer (charges to the developer so that the council can properly maintain them in the future at no cost to the council).

Developers are advised to discuss these issues with the highway officers at an early stage to avoid delays at the formal planning stage.

A Bond is required to cover the works, that the developer must provide through a Bond Guarantor.

Contact: Graham Brewster, HDC Team Leader, tel: 01628 796161 or email: graham.brewster@rbwm.gov.uk

Housing/Industrial Estate Roads (section 38 Agreements - Highways Act 1980)

Where the planning application involves a new estate road, developers are required to design them to the RBWM Design Guide.

The Department for Transport have published the "Manual for Streets" which sets out the government's aspirations for the design of residential streets. This can be found on the Department for Transport website.

After planning permission is granted, and before commencing construction, developers are requested to enter into an agreement with a Bond (insurance premium) to cover the full road construction. Without such an agreement in place developers will be required to make a deposit with the council under the Advanced Payments Code system under the Highways Act 1990.

Contact: Graham Brewster, HDC Team Leader, tel: 01628 796161 or email: graham.brewster@rbwm.gov.uk

Pre-Planning Advice

Pre-application discussions are considered vital and are encouraged whenever possible.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead considers that the provision of pre- application and post-application advice is an important aspect of the planning process, which can be of benefit to all parties involved. This should improve the quality of applications being submitted for consdieration by the Council. It should also allow the Council to deal with applications within the statutory timescales and provide customers with a greater degree or certainty about the chance of a positive recommendation being made.

There is a small charge to individual householders and a charging regime for more complex matters. Details of this service can be downloaded from the planning website.