Roles and responsibilities

As Local Highway/ Transport Authority (LHA), the council’s primary role is to maintain and improve all publicly adopted roads within the county of Leicestershire, so that they are safe for users and function effectively and sustainably for the volume and type of traffic use.

Applicants are advised to discuss their proposed application at the pre-planning submission stage with the LPA and where there are highway and transportation issues with the council as Local Highway Authority (LHA). 

Early engagement can help to resolve issues before they become more difficult to deal with. 

We are also responsible for:

  • Preparing documents such as the Local Transport Plan and Network Management Plan, so that the council’s strategic objectives and ambitions are met. 
  • Delivering sustainable transport in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework.
  • Working with commercial bus operators through the Leicestershire Enhanced Partnership and subsidising passenger transport services where the transport needs of communities would otherwise not be met by the commercial sector. Promoting wider passenger transport usage and providing or securing corresponding infrastructure to support Leicestershire’s bus network. 
  • The coordination of planned road works and maintenance activities. 
  • Conserving and enhancing the environment and periodically reporting on actions taken under the duty established under The Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act and Environment Act. The relevant functions that can contribute towards this strengthened duty include the maintenance of public rights of way and highways, the way which the council manages public land in our stewardship, and how biodiversity is considered in the planning processes.

Management of roads outside of the county of Leicestershire

  • Roads within the administrative boundary of Leicester City are managed by Leicester City Council. 
  • Roads that are classified as motorways or part of the strategic A-road network are managed by National Highways. 

The key teams

There are two primary highway authority functions covered by the Leicestershire Highway Design Guide (LHDG):

  • Highway Development Management (HDM)
  • Highway Adoption Approvals

Developers are encouraged to approach officers at an early stage (preferably pre-application) to discuss their proposals.

Highway Development Management (HDM)

This function is delivered by the Highway Development Management (HDM) team.

HDM as a statutory consultee, provides comments to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) regarding the highway aspects of planning applications.

HDM ensures development proposals are delivered in ways that safeguard the efficient and safe functioning of the transport network by:

  • establishing the policies and the information we require to enable the assessment of submissions (validation)
  • assessing proposals against the information provided by developers, including how designers promote sustainable and active travel. 

The sections of the LHDG that define the council’s policy, and the information required from developers (validation requirements) in relation to highway aspects of new development are:

  • Highway Development Management Policy
  • Preparing development proposal

The LPA - usually the borough or district council:

  • manages and administers the planning process and 
  • makes decisions on planning applications. 

At various stages in the planning process the LPA will formally seek the views of other authorities and bodies on development proposals. The LPA then considers all responses to enable an informed decision before deciding on the outcome of an application.

There are four stages in the planning process:

  • pre-application
  • application
  • enforcement
  • appeal

Highway Adoption and Approvals

This function is delivered by the Infrastructure Planning team.

The Infrastructure Planning team look after the materials and construction standards required, and process to follow, if a developer is seeking the adoption of new highway and associated assets by the council.

Their primary role is to:

  • Assess development proposals, to verify that they meet approval standards for road construction in the county that are consistent with national and local guidance as presented in the LHDG.
  • Ensure that roads are designed to publicly adoptable standards, where it is the intention for them to be adopted by the council, and more generally support a safe and efficient highway network. Part of this role is to manage the legal agreement process alongside our legal team.

The Infrastructure Planning team also covers matters related to strategic flood management in the county, including consents for works potentially impacting on ordinary watercourses.

Transport network management teams

In addition to the above roles, the council has a duty under the Traffic Management Act to keep traffic moving by managing the transport network effectively. 

Developers should refer to the council’s Network Management Plan in the preparation of the highway elements of their schemes to ensure they align with its aims.

The teams that manage and support this work include:

Traffic and Safety

•    managing the development of the network and the impact of growth
•    traffic management
•    traffic and safety queries
•    traffic assessments, safety schemes and traffic regulation orders

Network Management

•    temporary traffic regulation orders
•    permits and licences to work in the highway
•    planned road works and maintenance activities such as temporary traffic regulation orders and road space bookings

Network and Data Intelligence 

•    the design, development and operation of the council’s transport models
•    collection, analysis and provision of transport data and intelligence to support economy and growth
•    data collection services to internal and external clients, modelling, data services
•    technical advice as an income-generating service to internal and external clients (fees chargeable)