Scottish Government

Planning Advice Note
PAN 66

Annex A:
Advice on Minor Developments affecting Trunk Roads

January 2003

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PLANNING SERIES:

• Scottish Planning Policies (SPPs) provide statements of Scottish Executive policy on nationally important land use and other planning matters, supported where appropriate by a locational framework.
• Circulars which also provide statements of Scottish Executive policy, contain guidance on policy implementation through legislative or procedural change.
• Planning Advice Notes (PANs) provide advice on good practice and other relevant information.

Statements of Scottish Executive policy contained in SPPs and Circulars may be material considerations to be taken into account in development plan preparation and development control.

Existing National Planning Policy Guidelines (NPPGs) have continued relevance to decision making, until such time as they are replaced by a SPP. The term SPP should be interpreted as including NPPGs.

Statements of Scottish Executive location-specific planning policy, for example the West Edinburgh Planning Framework, have the same status in decision making as SPPs.

PAN 66 and the accompanying Annexes have been produced jointly by the Scottish Executive Development Department's Planning and Road Network Management and Maintenance Divisions.

PLANNING ADVICE NOTE 64:
Annex A: Advice on Minor Developments affecting Trunk Roads

WHO SHOULD READ THIS ADVICE?

• Developers
• Local Authority planning officers
• Individuals applying for planning permission for alterations and minor developments.

1. Developers and professionals applying for planning permission for major developments may also find it helpful, but some requirements may not apply to them. A companion leaflet "Advice on Major Developments Affecting Trunk Roads and Motorways" (Annex B to PAN 66) gives useful information. Advice may also be obtained from your Local Authority Planning Department.

WHY IS IT NECESSARY TO CONSULT ON APPLICATIONS AFFECTING TRUNK ROADS?

BACKGROUND

2. The Scottish Executive Road Network Management and Maintenance Division (RNMMD) is responsible for Scotland's trunk road and motorway network (shown on the back page of this leaflet). The primary purpose of this network is to provide for the safe and efficient movement of long distance through traffic. This means strictly limiting the number of direct accesses on to trunk roads and ensuring the full implications for traffic and road safety are taken into account. It also means restricting access where new developments are proposed in the vicinity of trunk roads, particularly on to dual carriageways where speeds are high. This is the case whether development involves the creation of a new access or increased use of an existing access.

3. It is recognised that in some parts of Scotland the trunk road may be the only road on to which development can take access. In such cases the access will be expected to be of the highest possible standard. There are a number of factors to be considered and the provision of full details at the time of the application can considerably speed up the consultation process.

WHO IS CONSULTED AND WHEN?

4. Local Authority planning departments are required to consult the Scottish Executive under Article 15(1) of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 before granting planning permission for any development within 67 metres of a trunk road, where the development includes the formation, laying out or alteration of any means of access to a trunk road and where a development is likely to increase the volume or type of traffic entering or leaving a trunk road.

5. The planning authority is required to give the Scottish Executive at least 14 days notice of their intention to consider and determine an application.

HOW CAN I HELP SPEED UP MY PLANNING APPLICATION?

6. As much supporting information as possible should be included to allow proper consideration of the application to be made quickly. Supporting information should provide details of the various impacts and possible mitigation measures related to the proposal. Delays in obtaining such details are the most common reason for long reply times to consultations involving RNMMD.

WHAT FACTORS WILL BE CONSIDERED IN ASSESSING MY APPLICATION?

7. The following sections give advice on the main factors that will be considered in assessing an application affecting a trunk road. The standards that are required for trunk roads are contained in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) updated quarterly and available from HMSO. Where possible it will be expected that applications will meet or surpass these standards.

TRAFFIC

8. Traffic generation is the main impact a development has on the trunk road. Increased traffic can affect the capacity and more importantly, in the case of minor developments, the safety of the trunk road. Even a small increase in traffic using a substandard access can have a significant impact. Where the development is expected to have a significant traffic impact affecting the capacity of the trunk road then advice should be sought in accordance with Annex B to PAN 66.

LOCATION

9. Direct vehicular access on to a trunk road should be avoided as far as practicable. Where feasible, access should be taken from a local road instead.

10. There will always be a presumption against the creation of new accesses onto high-speed trunk roads. Where a development uses an existing access, extra traffic generation no matter how small will have to be fully assessed.

VISIBILITY AND SAFETY

11. For safety reasons, drivers should be able to see any potential hazard in time to slow down or stop comfortably before reaching it. To ensure good lines of sight, junctions have to be designed with suitable visibility splays (requirements for visibility splays are illustrated in the diagrams below).

12. Applicants will usually be required to provide and maintain visibility splays and consideration should therefore be given to the ownership of the land over which the visibility splay sits. Visibility on the trunk road is also important and new or altered accesses where visibility is restricted, such as on bends or crests or dips, will be resisted.

13. Provision of adequate visibility will not in itself guarantee that RNMMD will accept a new or altered access. For example, accesses on overtaking sections of trunk road will be resisted as this reduces the effectiveness of the trunk road to carry high volumes of long distance traffic safely.

VISIBILITY AND VISIBILITY SPLAYS

14. The following tables and diagrams give general guidance on visibility splays and the most suitable layout for junctions. All new accesses should be provided to the most appropriate standard. In addition, where a development generates a significant increase in traffic on to an existing access, it will be necessary to bring this access up to standard. No object should obscure visibility in a vertical plane within the splay above a height of 0.26m measured from a driver's eye height of between 1.05m and 2m. Horizontal visibility splays are normally expressed in terms of the x-distance along the centreline of the access, and a
y-distance along the nearside of the trunk road carriageway. The y-distance depends on the speed of traffic on the trunk road.

15. Normally an x-distance of 4.5 m shall be provided for a direct access where daily traffic is forecast not to exceed 500 vehicles per day. For lightly used accesses, RNMMD may consider a reduction in the x-distance to 2.4m or 2.0m in exceptional circumstances.

16. Visibility also has to be provided to the rear of footway crossings as shown below.

JUNCTION LAYOUTS

17. The diagrams below describe different layouts and access arrangements dependent on the development and the types of traffic that are generated.

18. This layout is suitable for single dwellings or access into fields. For large vehicles the width of the access should be increased to 3.5m and the junction splays to 2m.

19. This layout is suitable for small developments generating up to 500 vehicle movements per day. The radius should be a minimum of 6m for urban roads and 10m for rural roads. A taper of 1:5 for 30m for urban roads and 1:10 for 25m for rural roads should be provided.

20. This layout is a development of layout 2 and is suitable for a rural access where long vehicles are predicted.

OTHER DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

21. On direct accesses gradients should be less than 10% approaching the trunk road for a minimum distance of 15m.

22. A ghost island turning lane may be required for accesses on busy trunk roads. Advice on the layout of this type of junction and additional advice can be found in the DMRB.

23. On dual carriageway roads it is likely that diverge and merge tapers will also be required.

24. Accesses should be surfaced in an approved bituminous material for at least the length of the longest vehicle expected to use it. This surfacing will have to be tied into the trunk road surfacing to an approved detail.

WHAT OTHER FACTORS DO I NEED TO CONSIDER?

25. Consideration must be given to the effect of the access on the trunk road drainage system, for example, in most instances no surface water drainage can be connected into the trunk road drainage system and accesses must be designed to prevent surface water flowing on to the trunk road. Further guidance on surface water drainage can be found in PAN 61: Planning and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (2001).

26. The needs of pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians will also need to be considered. Boundary treatment might also require consideration. For many developments a boundary fence may have to be erected to prevent pedestrian access to the trunk road. This will usually be maintained by the developer or applicant.

27. Drivers on the trunk road should not be dazzled by light from the site and screening may be required.

28. Vehicles making deliveries should be able to stop safely off the trunk road. Parking spaces might have to be provided to prevent vehicles from parking on the trunk road.

29. Access onto the trunk road should always be made in a forward gear as this is the safest form of exit, and therefore a service bay or turning facilities within the site might be required.

30. The above advice is not exhaustive and further guidance may need to be obtained prior to submitting the planning application either from the Local Authority, from RNMMD or from the Trunk Road Operating Company. Professional advice from an Engineer or Surveyor is recommended. This is especially important where geotechnical or structural factors need to be considered in assessing an application.

WHERE DO I GET PERMISSION TO WORK ON THE TRUNK ROAD?

31. If you are granted planning permission by the planning authority and are required to carry out work on the trunk road then you should apply to the Operating Company responsible for managing that part of the trunk road (details of the operating companies are given at the end of this leaflet). You should ensure that sufficient information and detail is supplied to allow the Operating Company to satisfy itself that all terms and conditions relating to the design and construction of the works have been complied with. The Operating Company will also be responsible for undertaking the necessary supervision. This is to ensure that the works will not cause unnecessary inconvenience to road users (including pedestrians and cyclists) and that the work undertaken meets the appropriate standards of design and construction.

32. In certain cases, a standard "Minute of Agreement" will need to be signed between the Scottish Executive and the applicant/developer. Further advice on this is contained in Annex B to PAN 66.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THE APPLICATION IS GRANTED AGAINST ADVICE?

PLANNING INQUIRIES AND THE CALL IN PROCESS

33. When the planning authority receives the consultation response from RNMMD, it is normal practice to incorporate this in the report to the planning committee. The planning committee may, when it considers the application, decide to accept the recommendations or not. However, if it decides to grant planning permission against the advice of RNMMD, or does not propose to attach planning conditions that have been recommended by RNMMD, it is required to notify the Scottish Ministers, who have overall responsibility for planning matters in Scotland. The Scottish Ministers have 28 days from receipt of full documentation (or such longer period as they may require) in which to decide whether to call-in the application for determination or pass it back to the planning authority for decision.

34. Where an application is called-in, it is normal practice for the matter to be considered by means of written submissions and a site inspection or at a Public Local Inquiry. A reporter will be appointed to conduct the proceedings and will make recommendations to the Scottish Ministers.

35. Any conditions attached to the grant of consent following call-in and determination by the Scottish Ministers are enforceable by the planning authority, not RNMMD.

36. Where a planning authority refuses planning permission, or grants permission subject to conditions, it must give clear reasons for its decision. An applicant can appeal to the Scottish Ministers within 6 months of the council's decision.

WHERE CAN I GET FURTHER ADVICE?

37. It is always a good idea to make contact before submitting a planning application. If there is any doubt about the acceptability of any proposed development alongside or affecting a trunk road, or if there are any questions about standards, contact should be made first with one of the 5 Operating Companies listed below who manage and maintain the network on behalf of the Scottish Executive. (It should be noted however that the operating companies only offer advice and not a design service).

38. If you require advice on the acceptability of any other aspect of your application then you should contact your local authority planning officer.

CONTACT DETAILS

North West Unit
BEAR Scotland Ltd
North West Unit Office
Balblair Quarry
BEAULY
Inverness-shire
IV4 7BG
Tel: 01463 784300
Fax: 01463 783822

North East Unit
BEAR Scotland Ltd
BEAR House
Inveralmond Road
Inveralmond Industrial Estate
PERTH
PH1 3TW
Tel: 01738 448600
Fax: 01738 453175

South West Unit
Amey Highways Ltd
Bargeddie Office
Langmuir Road
GLASGOW
G69 7RW
Tel: 0141 781 6900
Fax: 0141 771 0893

South East Unit
Amey Highways Ltd
Gilmerton Depot
600 Gilmerton Road
EDINBURGH
EH17 8RY
Tel: 0131 660 8100
Fax: 0131 663 8016

Autolink Concessionaires (M6) plc
The M6 DBFO Project Office
Nethercleuch, Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire
DG11 2SQ
Tel: 01576 205200
Fax: 01576 204666

Scottish Executive Development Department
Road Network Management and Maintenance Division
Area 1-D
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ
Tel: 0131 244 0469
Fax: 0131 244 0492
www.scotland.gov.uk

SCOTTISH TRUNK ROAD NETWORK MAP