Section 278 agreements: highway works a developer pays for
Section 278 of the Highways Act 1980 is the contract behind every new junction, crossing and footway a development builds. What it covers and how long it takes.
A section 278 agreement is the contract under which a developer pays for works to the existing public highway and the highway authority agrees to let them happen. New junctions, ghost island right turns, signalised crossings, footway widening, bus stop relocations and traffic calming all arrive through one. The power sits in section 278 of the Highways Act 1980, and the point people miss is that it is a separate consent from separate body, with its own programme, its own technical approval process and its own money.
Planning permission does not authorise work in the highway. Nor does a section 278 agreement authorise development. On a scheme where the access is the whole point, the two have to be run as one programme even though they sit in different departments.
What the agreement covers
The core of it is a design, a price and a set of obligations. The developer funds the works, either building them under the authority's supervision or paying the authority to build them. The agreement fixes the technical standards, the inspection regime, the defects period, the insurance and the security.
Security is the part that surprises people. Authorities require a bond or a cash deposit covering the cost of completing the works if the developer fails, usually set as a percentage above the tendered figure. That sum is tied up from execution until the maintenance period ends, so it belongs in the cash flow rather than in a footnote.
Fees sit alongside. Authorities charge for technical approval, for supervision and inspection, and for their legal costs in drafting, typically as a percentage of the works value under a published schedule. Ask for the schedule at the first meeting.
And where the authority will adopt an asset that costs more than standard construction to maintain, a commuted sum is payable. Traffic signals are the classic case. Structures, pumped drainage, block paving and anything with a shorter replacement cycle than plain bituminous surfacing attract them too.
How it connects to the planning application
The transport evidence in the application is what determines whether a section 278 is needed at all. A transport assessment on a larger scheme, or a transport statement on a smaller one, sets out the trip generation, the junction capacity work and the access design. The highway authority responds as a consultee, and its response usually contains the first indication of what it expects to see built.
Authorities then secure the works through conditions or a section 106 obligation. A common condition prevents occupation of any dwelling until the highway works have been completed in accordance with an approved scheme. Where the land is outside the applicant's control, the condition is drafted in Grampian form, preventing development from starting until something happens elsewhere. National guidance accepts that approach provided there is a reasonable prospect of the works being delivered within the life of the permission.
That drafting has a practical consequence. A condition tied to completion of the highway works rather than to their start puts the whole sales programme behind an approval process the developer does not control. Negotiating the trigger point is a legitimate part of the application, and the time to do it is before the officer report is written.
Obligations secured in a deed are registered as local land charges, which is worth understanding alongside how obligations appear on title, because a purchaser's solicitor will find them before the purchaser does.
The approval sequence
- Concept design agreed in principle with the highway authority during the planning application.
- Detailed design submitted for technical approval, checked against the authority's standards, the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges where relevant, and Manual for Streets on local roads.
- Road safety audit carried out by an independent team, with a designer's response to each recommendation, and the authority deciding what is accepted.
- Legal agreement drafted by the authority's solicitors, negotiated, and executed with the bond in place.
- Licences and permits for working in the highway, traffic management approval, and where necessary a traffic regulation order with its own consultation period.
- Construction under supervision, then a maintenance period, then adoption.
Step five carries the hidden delay. A traffic regulation order to change waiting restrictions or a speed limit has a statutory advertisement and objection process, and objections go to a committee. Six months is not unusual, and nothing in the planning permission accounts for it.
Local roads and the strategic network
On local roads the counterparty is the county council, unitary authority or London borough acting as highway authority. On motorways and trunk roads it is National Highways, and the relationship is governed by its own guidance and by the circular on the strategic road network and the delivery of sustainable development. National Highways applies its own technical approval procedures and its own standards, and its programme constraints are different, because works on a trunk road need road space that is booked months in advance.
Transport for London occupies a third position on the roads it manages, with its own approval route. Boroughs handle the rest of the London network.
The practical point for a developer is to establish, at the earliest site appraisal, which body controls the frontage. A site with a trunk road access has a materially different programme from an otherwise identical site 200 metres down a classified road.
Where schemes lose time
Design changes after technical approval. Every alteration to the planning layout that touches the access forces a re-check, and a re-audit if the safety audit has already been done.
Land. A junction improvement that needs a strip of third party land needs that land, and a Grampian condition does not conjure it. Establish ownership and start negotiations before the planning application if the design pushes beyond the existing highway boundary.
Silence. Highway teams are small and stretched, and a technical submission can sit unread. Where the delay is on discharge of a planning condition rather than on the agreement itself, the deemed discharge procedure is one lever, though it does not apply to every condition and cannot compel a highway authority to approve a section 278 design.
An illustrative programme
Illustrative example. A 60 home scheme with a new priority junction, footway widening and a relocated bus stop on a classified road. Concept design agreed at pre-application. Permission granted with an occupation condition. Technical approval takes four months including two rounds of comments, the stage 1 safety audit runs alongside, legal drafting adds two months, and a traffic regulation order for the bus stop clearway adds four more running in parallel. First occupation lands roughly a year after consent. The durations are illustrative and vary widely by authority.
Get the highway authority's published fee schedule, bond policy and commuted sum policy at the appraisal stage rather than after consent. Those three documents turn a guess into a line in the budget.
Enter your site postcode on PlanScope to see which transport documents a scheme of your size is likely to need.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between section 278 and section 38?
Section 278 covers works to the existing public highway carried out at a developer's expense, such as a new junction or a signalised crossing. Section 38 is the agreement under which a new road built inside a development is adopted as public highway. Larger schemes routinely need both, often in a single combined agreement with the highway authority.
Do I need a section 278 agreement for a dropped kerb?
Usually not. A domestic vehicle crossing is normally handled under section 184 of the Highways Act 1980 through the authority's crossing application process. Section 278 is reserved for works of a scale that alter the highway layout. The dividing line is set locally, so ask the highway authority which route applies before you design anything.
How long does a section 278 take?
Allow months rather than weeks. The sequence runs through technical approval of the design, road safety audit and designer response, legal drafting, bond or surety arrangements, then a licence to work in the highway and traffic management. Authorities have limited technical staff, so early engagement during the planning application shortens the post-decision phase.
What is a commuted sum?
A payment to the highway authority towards the future maintenance of an asset it will adopt, typically where the asset costs more to maintain than standard construction. Signals, structures, drainage features and non-standard surfacing attract them. The calculation follows the authority's published policy, so ask for that policy early and put the figure in the appraisal.
Can a planning permission be granted before the agreement is signed?
Yes. Authorities normally use a condition preventing occupation, or a start on site, until the highway works are secured or completed, sometimes drafted in Grampian form because the land lies outside the applicant's control. The agreement itself is then concluded with the highway authority after permission, which is why programme risk sits in that gap.
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.