The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA), as amended by the Transport Act 2000 and the Traffic Management Act 2004, contains provision for highway authorities to operate schemes that involve charging street works undertakers for the time their works occupy the highway (referred to in this document as "lane rental" schemes). The power for local highway authorities to implement lane rental schemes in England is subject to the approval of the Secretary of State. Following pilot schemes which ran between 2002 and 2004, no further schemes were submitted to the Department, but new Regulations <have now been made to allow authorities to bring forward new scheme proposals. Given that lane rental is not yet proven as an effective model for reducing congestion and other disruption caused by works, the Government is at this stage interested in the possibility of lane rental schemes being implemented in just one or two areas. Such schemes would need to be different in approach to the earlier pilots, focusing much more specifically on the most acute problem areas. Schemes in one or two areas could act as pioneers of this new approach, with their early progress informing future decisions on whether lane rental could usefully be applied more widely. This Code of Practice provides guidance intended to assist those authorities who are contemplating the development of lane rental schemes in England, and sets out what will be expected as part of any application to the Secretary of State for approval to operate such a scheme. In particular, this guidance provides a clear framework for a much more targeted approach than the previous pilots, focused on the key strategic locations on a network and with charges applying only at the busiest times. This guidance document is intended to be read in conjunction with the Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street Works and Works for Road Purposes and Related Matters and, where a permit scheme is in operation, the relevant permit scheme order. This document is not a statutory Code of Practice, but sets out a clear guide as to the conditions under which the Secretary of State is likely to approve (or not to approve) any proposals to operate future schemes. It emphasises the Government's intention to approve no more than one or two schemes - one for a major urban area and one for a non-metropolitan area - until the lane rental concept has been proven effective. (Author/publisher) See http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/dft-2011-25 for the entire consultation pack.
Samenvatting