When a section 184 licence is required
Alterations to existing, and formation of new, dropped kerb access that are covered by Leicestershire County Council standard drawings SD/11/9, SD/11/10 and SD/11/11 will be categorised as Section 184 and the application form and guidance can be found on the LCC website.
Otherwise, accesses will be dealt with under Section 278 (see Technical Approvals and Highway Adoption Section 278s and technical approval) by Leicestershire County Council Infrastructure Planning.
The council will consider managing temporary construction accesses under a Section 184 licence, where there is a planning condition in place for the access to be reinstated or works are to be superseded by those undertaken under a Section 278 agreement. This must be agreed with others prior to taking any action in relation to these works.
Prior to commencement of works
The cost of the works should be secured in the form of a bond, or a cash deposit.
- The council’s fee of £3,500 should be paid.
- Detailed engineering plans are submitted to and technically approved.
- Following technical approval a S184 permit is issued.
- Statutory undertakers should be contacted to locate any issues with existing services (Form VA5).
- The council must be indemnified (protected from legal responsibility) against any claims by third parties arising from the highway works. Before the council will approve the developer’s contractor, they must provide the council with written evidence that they have, as a minimum, £10 million public liability insurance with no limit on the number of claims.
- A pre-start meeting should be arranged with the relevant area inspector (details will be provided with notification of technical approval). Notice of at least five working days should be given before any works commence.
Technical approval of plans is required before any works commence. The works should be constructed to LHDG standards and inspected by the council. Need to reference the Development Inspections checklist
To enable technical approval the applicant will be required to submit plans showing the following items:
- Details of access onto the highway including gradients (generally 1:10 max.);
- Details of surface water management such that it does not run onto the public highway;
- Standard construction details to Leicestershire County Councils specifications;
- Any additional site-specific details & requirements of the planning permission.
Following construction
Provisional certificate and bond reduction
When the Inspector is satisfied that the access that has been constructed is fit for purpose, a provisional certificate of completion will be issued and the deposit/bond will be reduced to £5000 or 20% of the original figure (whichever is greater).
The developer’s maintenance period
The developer will then be responsible for maintaining the works for a minimum period of 24 months. This allows any defects in the works to become apparent after they are brought into use.
Full certificate
A full certificate of completion will be issued at the end of the maintenance period further to a satisfactory inspection of the works to ensure they have been completed and maintained to an acceptable standard. A list of any outstanding remedial works must be submitted, which must be completed to the council’s satisfaction. A signed inspection checklist will be required before issuing of the final certificate.