Documents for a new access onto a classified road
There is no permitted development route onto an A, B or C road. Here is the evidence the highway authority expects, and the separate consents that follow permission.
A new access onto a classified road always needs planning permission. The permitted development right for forming a means of access, in Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO 2015, applies only to a highway that is not a trunk road or a classified road, and only where the access is needed in connection with other permitted development. So for an A, B or C road, there is no shortcut.
What follows is a planning application in which the highway authority is the consultee whose view will effectively decide the outcome, supported by evidence it has asked for many times before and will ask for again.
Who decides what on a classified road
Three bodies, with distinct roles that applicants routinely confuse.
The local planning authority determines the planning application and imposes the conditions. It is not the highway authority, and it will almost never grant permission against a highway objection on safety grounds.
The local highway authority, usually the county or unitary council, is the statutory consultee on the planning application and the body that later approves the physical works. On the strategic road network, meaning motorways and trunk roads, National Highways takes that role instead.
And the highway authority again, wearing a different hat, grants the separate consents for the works themselves. Planning permission does not authorise you to dig up a verge or drop a kerb.
Speed survey evidence
Visibility requirements are derived from vehicle speeds, and the speeds that matter are the ones recorded on the road, not the posted limit.
The convention is to use the 85th percentile wet weather speed, measured by automatic traffic counters placed near the proposed access, recording in both directions for a period of around seven days in neutral conditions. Neutral means avoiding school holidays, avoiding roadworks nearby, and avoiding atypical weeks.
From that speed, the required stopping sight distance follows. On lower-speed roads the figures in the national street design guidance are used; on higher-speed rural roads the highway design standards apply instead, and they give longer distances.
Two practical notes. Commission the survey before you fix the access position, because a 50mph recorded speed on a 40mph road moves the required splay substantially and may rule the position out. And give the authority the raw data as well as the summary, since a highway engineer will want to see the distribution rather than a single figure.
Visibility splay drawings and dimensions
This is the drawing that decides the application, and it has a conventional form.
Show the X distance, measured back from the nearside carriageway edge along the centre line of the access, and the Y distances in both directions measured along the nearside carriageway edge. State the driver eye height and the object height used, and state the design speed and the source of the standard applied.
The splay has to be deliverable, which means three further things on the drawing:
- The land within the splay is within the applicant's control or within the publicly maintainable highway
- Nothing within the splay obstructs visibility above the object height, including hedges, walls, signs, parked vehicles and the ground itself where it rises
- The splay can be kept clear permanently, which is what the condition will require
A splay drawn across a neighbour's garden hedge is not a splay. A splay drawn over highway verge that the authority maintains is fine. Where a hedge needs lowering or removing, say so on the drawing and deal with it in the application rather than leaving it as an implication.
Surface water from the access
An access is a ramp running from the carriageway onto your land, and water will run down it in one direction or the other. The highway authority cares about one of those directions.
The requirements are consistent across authorities. No surface water may discharge from the site onto the highway. The first few metres of the access, usually five or six, should be laid to a shallow gradient of around 1 in 20 or flatter, with a channel or gully at the boundary to intercept run-off. And the first stretch should be a bound surface, so that loose gravel is not carried onto the carriageway by tyres.
Set that out in a longitudinal section through the access, with levels, gradients and the drainage detail. Where the site drains towards the road, a short Drainage Strategy note showing where the intercepted water goes answers the question before it is asked.
Hedgerow and tree removal evidence
Most rural accesses require removing part of a hedge, and that is a separate regime.
Removal of a hedgerow in the countryside normally requires a hedgerow removal notice to the local planning authority under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997, with a 42 day period in which the authority can serve a retention notice. Hedgerows meeting the criteria in the Regulations are treated as important, and a retention notice can be served to protect them. The planning permission does not override that.
Trees bring their own position. A tree subject to a tree preservation order, or any tree of sufficient size in a conservation area, needs consent or notification before works. And where trees sit near the access, a survey to the relevant British Standard showing root protection areas against the proposed construction is needed, because an access built through a root protection area usually kills the tree it was drawn around. A tree survey with a construction method for any no-dig section is the document that resolves it.
Expect a condition requiring replacement hedgerow planting set back behind the visibility splay, and design that into the layout rather than being given it.
Highway agreements that follow
Planning permission is one of three or four consents. The others come from the highway authority under the Highways Act 1980.
- A vehicle crossing approval under section 184, which covers the dropped kerb and the footway crossing where there is a footway
- A section 278 agreement where works to the public highway itself are needed, such as a new bellmouth, kerb realignment, a right turn lane or signing
- A licence for works in the highway, with the associated inspection fees and a bond where the works are substantial
- A section 38 agreement where new highway is to be offered for adoption, which is unusual for a single access
Section 278 agreements take time, often considerably longer than the planning application, because they involve technical approval, a legal agreement and sometimes a bond. On any scheme where the access needs more than a dropped kerb, start that conversation while the planning application is being determined rather than after.
Conditions on construction and use
The conditions to expect are predictable, and three of them are worth shaping before the decision is issued.
The access to be constructed in accordance with approved details before first occupation, or before any other development starts where the access is also the construction route. The visibility splays to be provided before first use and thereafter kept clear of any obstruction above a stated height, in perpetuity. Any gates to be set back a stated distance, commonly five metres, and to open inwards away from the highway. The existing access, where one is being replaced, to be permanently closed and the kerb and verge reinstated. And a surfacing condition requiring a bound material for the first stretch.
The perpetuity splay condition is the one that affects a future owner, so make sure the land it covers is within the title or within the highway. A condition requiring clear visibility over land you do not control is unenforceable against you and a problem on sale.
An illustrative bundle
A single dwelling on a plot fronting a C road with a 60mph limit and a recorded 85th percentile speed of 47mph. The pack: a site plan with the access position, a visibility splay drawing stating the design speed, the standard applied and the X and Y dimensions, a longitudinal section showing a 1 in 25 gradient over the first six metres with a channel at the boundary, a tree survey covering two ash trees near the access, a hedgerow removal notice submitted separately, a swept path drawing for a car and a refuse vehicle, and a short Planning Statement drawing it together. Seven items, and the speed survey behind them. The example is illustrative.
This is general guidance, not legal advice; check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
Frequently asked questions
Is a new access onto a classified road ever permitted development?
No. The permitted development right in Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO 2015 for forming a means of access applies only to a highway that is not a trunk road or a classified road, and only where the access serves other permitted development. An access onto an A, B or C road needs planning permission.
What speed figure sets the visibility requirement?
The recorded 85th percentile wet weather speed, not the posted limit. It is measured with automatic traffic counters near the proposed access, in both directions, over about seven days in neutral conditions avoiding school holidays and nearby roadworks. Commission the survey before fixing the access position, because the result can rule it out.
Can a visibility splay cross a neighbour's land?
Not usefully. The splay has to be within the applicant's control or within the publicly maintainable highway, kept clear of obstruction above the stated object height, and capable of being kept clear permanently, because that is what the condition will require. A splay over a third party's hedge is unenforceable and a problem on sale.
Does planning permission allow me to drop the kerb?
No. The physical works need separate consent from the highway authority: a vehicle crossing approval under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 for the dropped kerb and footway crossing, and a section 278 agreement where works to the carriageway itself are needed. Section 278 agreements often take longer than the planning application.
What about removing part of a hedge for the access?
Removal of a countryside hedgerow normally requires a hedgerow removal notice to the local planning authority under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997, with a 42 day period in which a retention notice can be served on an important hedgerow. Planning permission does not override that, and replacement planting behind the splay is usually conditioned.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.