Street works permit scheme

Bracknell Forest operates under The Traffic Management Permit Scheme Order. This helps us to manage street and road works across our 915km of road network. The scheme excludes any motorways and trunk roads, for which Highways England is the highway authority.

Background

Part 3 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 introduced permit schemes as a different way in which activities in the public highway could be managed to improve a highway authority's ability to minimise disruption from street and road works.

Within a permit scheme, anyone carrying out works in the road legally needs to apply to us for permission, in advance of the works.

We can then choose to:

• grant a permit
• apply conditions to a granted permit
• decline permission for work

Objectives

We have a duty, under Section 59 of the New Roads & Street Works Act 1991, to co-ordinate works of all kinds. In addition, section 16 of the Traffic Management Act 2004, requires us to manage our road network, with a view to achieving, so far as may be reasonably practicable, the following overriding objectives:

• securing the expeditious movement of traffic on the authority’s road network
• facilitating the expeditious movement of traffic on road networks for which another authority is the traffic authority

Strong co-ordination and management by the highway authority is essential to minimise traffic disruption, whilst allowing organisations the necessary time and space to finish their activities safely.

The strategic objectives for the permit scheme are taken from the council’s Local Transport Plan. They are to:

• reduce delays associated with traffic congestion and improve reliability of journey times
• maintain and improve the local transport network
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transport
• reduce casualties and improve safety on the local transport network

The specific objectives for the permit scheme are to:

• reduce occupation of the highway to benefit all highway users
• improve safety of all highway users at road and street activities
• enhance the reliability of journey times
• enhance the journey experience
• gain greater control of all activities on the public highway
• minimise, avoid or manage delays to all highway users
• improve public perception of managing highway activities
• reinforce co-ordination of all activities on the highway
• reduce long term damage to the highway asset
• encourage collaborative working between all activity promoters
• achieve an improvement in air quality
• demonstrate parity for all activity promoters
• strengthen cross-boundary co-operation

Evaluation reports