A commuted sum must be paid where the council has agreed to adopt extra over areas not required for the safe and satisfactory operation of the highway. This includes the costs of using agreed alternative surfacing materials.
Where additional width is required for visibility at junctions, inside bends and for other reasons a ‘verge’ area can be installed, however, areas must be above the minimum size, otherwise should be paved. The minimum width of a verge strip must be 1m or 2m where tree planting is included. Verge areas of less than 10m2 for grass and 6m2 or below for shrub and ground-cover planting are not permitted. ‘Verge’ areas bigger than 10m2 should be suitably soft landscaped (see section on Green Infrastructure) unless the paving forms part of the design concept and it has been agreed at an early stage.