The government is consulting on how to speed up the process for obtaining stopping up orders.
Stopping up orders authorise the stopping up or diversion of a highway where it’s no longer needed or a change is required to enable development to proceed.
The grant of planning permission to carry out development does not contain consent to stop up the public highway, so a developer might need to obtain a stopping up order to sit alongside the planning permission.
Developers with planning permission may have to wait a further 13 weeks before getting a decision on a stopping up application, and considerably longer where a local inquiry is required to consider objections.
The government is committed to speeding up and simplifying the application process for non-planning consents following the 2010 Penfold Review.
Applications to stop up or divert a local highway are made direct to the Secretary of State for Transport, although in London responsibility is devolved to the London Boroughs, with the Mayor of London determining whether or not a public inquiry is held.
The consultation looks at various options for speeding up the process (no change is being advocated for London).
The proposals would allow stopping up and diversion orders to be made in parallel with planning applications.
The challenge will be to devise a speedier system which at the same time takes proper account of objections – one of the options is including a statutory time limit for considering objections.
The consultation ends on 24 August 2012.
UPDATE 25/8/12
Here is the response to the consultation from the British Property Federation.
UPDATE 25/8/12
Here is the response to the consultation from the British Property Federation.
Problems regarding highways should be solve immediately by the authorities as this might give a bad effect for most people because majority of us is using the road in our every day life. Being a member of one of the oil companies calgary, I know how people feel towards this issue.
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