The petition of residents of South Northamptonshire,
Declares that there have been recent, uncoordinated road closures at very short notice with poor signage on the M1 at J15, J15A, A508, A5, A43, B4525, A422 and many other B and C roads; notes that residents have contributed to many planning consultations in recent years on developments such as HS2, SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton and the unwelcome warehousing proposals on the AL sites; further declares that South Northamptonshire has taken an excessive amount of new development where local interests have been overlooked, in favour of the national interest.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to require better coordination between stakeholders, including developers, National Highways and local councils, when closing roads in order to relieve local residents of their misery.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Official Report, 27 November 2023; Vol. 741, c. 1P.]
[P002878]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Guy Opperman):
I am grateful to the petitioners for raising this matter with the House.
National Highways has both regional and national teams who work together closely to co-ordinate roadworks across the strategic road network.
Due to the large number of projects specifically in South Northamptonshire this year requiring access to the SRN and the local highway authority networks, NH has also implemented an additional weekly meeting to help co-ordinate all traffic management requirements up to three weeks ahead, which includes representatives from NH, its suppliers, West Northamptonshire Council, Buckinghamshire Council, HS2, Silverstone Events, Persimmon Homes and SEGRO Logistics Park’s contractor Winvic.
National Highways is also a statutory consultee in the planning process, meaning that local planning authorities must seek its views as part of any consultation on a planning application. NH reviews the information submitted with the application to assess the impact on the SRN and provide a recommendation to the planning authority. The planning authority will then take this into account when considering whether planning permission should be granted.
Turning to the role of local highway authorities, LHAs are responsible for all other roads that are not part of the SRN, including maintenance and closures. The Highways Act 1980 and Traffic Management Act 2004 prescribe how local authorities manage their road networks, and they have to take into consideration other maintenance or closures in the area when considering any new works, closures and diversion routes.
Traffic regulation orders are often needed to close roads. Local authorities are required by legislation to ensure local residents are given seven days’ notice in the case of temporary closures for road works and to consult for 21 days in the case of permanent TROs.
If roads are being closed for street or roadworks, LAs have a duty under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to co-ordinate works with the aim of reducing the impact on road users and local communities. Both utility companies and LAs must apply for a permit before works can begin.
Data on live and planned works is streamed by the DFT for use by companies that provide websites and apps for the travelling public.
The High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017 and the accompanying environmental minimum requirements, including binding undertakings and assurances and the code of construction practice, require HS2 Ltd to minimise the impacts of construction traffic on local communities.
Further co-ordination meetings may be established between NH and HS2 to assist with the programming of activities on the motorway and trunk road networks. HS2 Ltd or contractors will also attend a local highway authority’s New Roads and Street Works Act meetings as requested by the highway authority to co-ordinate traffic management activity with utility companies, local authority highway works programmes and developer programmes.