Street works protocol
Introduction and background
1.1 Gateshead Council's ambition is to make Gateshead a place where everyone thrives. A properly functioning highway network has a key role to play in realising this ambition; it is a major asset for the benefit of people living or working in the Borough or those visiting or travelling through it and it is right that we protect and manage it effectively.
1.2 The Council is under a legal duty (opens new window) to manage our road network "with a view to achieving, so far as may be reasonably practicable ... the expeditious movement of traffic on the authority's road network". However, we also recognise that utility companies, private contractors and indeed the Council itself do need to undertake work in the highway. A balance therefore needs to be struck between these two sets of demands so that satisfactory notice is given of these works and they are properly managed and coordinated.
1.3 This Protocol is intended to set a broad framework for officers to deal with notices, applications and enforcement regarding street works and associated traffic management activities. It applies to Gateshead Council's own highway works, as well as those of utility companies and other external organisations. This Protocol is intended as a basic guide; more detailed guidance or instructions can be found in the national Codes of Practice and elsewhere. Nothing mentioned here overrides any legal requirements.
1.4 The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) (opens new window)and the Traffic Management Act 2004 (TMA) (opens new window) provide the main statutory framework for the successful coordination of street works activities. In Gateshead, responsibility for managing these functions rests with the Council's Development, Transport and Public Protection Service (DTPP).
1.5 Utility companies (or "statutory undertakers") are authorised to carry out street works directly through a regulatory framework (opens new window) established under NRSWA which may take one of two forms. The original of these is a "noticing" regime, where they simply need to give prescribed periods of notice, although the Council can require certain changes or impose some conditions. The more recent form is a "permit" regime, where the highway authority must actively consent to the works and may impose various conditions. Around two-thirds of English highway authorities are "permit" authorities.
1.6 Like most other North East highway authorities, Gateshead Council currently remains a "noticing" authority. However, along with others in the region, Council is actively considering becoming a "permit" authority during 2019-20, following a request to do so by the Secretary of State for Transport.
1.7 Accordingly, utility companies and the Council itself (in relation to our own highway works) currently need only give the required notice of their intention to undertake works in the highway. The Council may also issue street works licences under section 50 of NRSWA to individuals or organisations (for example housing developers) who do not have their own statutory powers. In all cases, the amount of notice the law requires to be given depends on the expected duration of the works (hours and days refer to working hours and working days; more details can be found within the national Code of Practice referred to above). The minimum notice periods are as follows:
| Works category | Notice period required |
|---|---|
| Immediate (urgent/emergency works) | Within two hours of the works starting |
| Minor (up to three days duration) | three days before the works start |
| Standard (between four and 10 days duration) | 10 days before the works start |
| Major (over 10 days duration) | three months before the works start |
The Council does have the power to allow work to start earlier. These notice periods exist for a reason, however, so we would expect there to be objective operational grounds for such requests (not merely for convenience).
1.8 Whilst there are certain statutory obligations which cannot be avoided or waived, the Council will always seek to adopt a reasonable and proportionate approach. It must nevertheless be accepted that more significant works (whether in their scope or in their impact on the network) will inevitably attract greater scrutiny and be subject to more stringent conditions.
1.9 For the avoidance of doubt and unless the context requires otherwise, general references to "the Council" in this Protocol mean Gateshead Council's Development, Transport and Public Protection Service. Equally, general references to undertakers mean utility companies, their agents, holders of street works licences or anyone else undertaking street works activities on the Council's highway network (including, for these purposes, the Council's own operational highways teams).