Planning Application Guidelines - Find a freedom of information request

Lincolnshire County Council Highways Department routinely receives invitations from local authorities to comment on planning applications, particularly regarding the building of road junctions on to the public highway.

In commenting the department must have a set of written procedures or guidelines in making assessments of highway safety and whether a planning application from a new proposed development is safe or not.

1. Please identify the guidance/ written criteria used by the Highways Department at the county council when commenting on planning applications.

2. Please supply electronically a copy the relevant section in the guidance/ written criteria used by the Highways Department at the county council when commenting on planning applications.

3. Please identify which parts of the National Planning Policy Framework and Central Lincolnshire plan that the Highways Department references when making its comments to planning applications.

4. Please identify in what circumstances site visits take place by a Highways Officer if the Highways Department is invited to comment on a planning application.

5. Please identify any written procedure/guidelines for a site visit and supply a copy of the relevant sections of that procedure/guidelines electronically used by Highways Officers.

6. If a site visit is carried out as part of an assessment before commenting please identify what a Highways Officer is supposed to do? Examples being: Carry out traffic counts, identifying times to visit, types of traffic, direction and flow, speeds of traffic and how those speeds are measured?

7. Please identify those criteria in written documentation/guidelines used by the Highways Department in determining whether a road junction is safe and what factors are involved by referencing them in any written procedures or guidelines if not covered by questions 1 and 2.

8. Please supply electronically those relevant sections in these documents the Highways Dept relies on in making an assessment for a planning application whether it is a safe junction to enter the public highway or leave the public highway if not covered by questions 1 and 2.

1. The Highway and Lead Local Flood Authority (HLLFA) refer to a great many legislations, guidance and best practice documents and local policies in assessing planning applications.

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) have not produced an exhaustive list as some guidance/ written criteria will be referred to infrequently in relation to a specific application or proposal. The documents most commonly used to assess planning applications are National Planning Policy Framework and Planning Practice Guidance, adopted Local Plans, Manual for Streets, Design Manual for Roads and Bridges, Local Transport Notes, Ciria SuDS Manual and DEFRA Non-Statutory Technical Standards for Sustainable Drainage. More detail can be found on Lincolnshire County Council's website, including LCC Highway and Lead Local Flood Authority produced guidance documents on developments: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highways-planning

2. LCC produced documents are available at: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highways-planning

All other documents are publically available online.

3. In order to be understood in context LCC as Highway Authority and Lead Local Flood Authority make reference to both NPPF and CLLP as entire documents. LCC may refer to specific paragraphs or policies in its responses to the Local Planning Authority dependent on individual applications and proposals.

4. Officers within the Development Management team on behalf of the Highway Authority will attend site for all applications which may affect the public highway.

5. Please refer to the Appendices of the Lincolnshire Development Roads and Sustainable Drainage Design Approach available at: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highways-planning

For the technical validation checklist used for all types and scale of development during the planning process.

6. Please refer to the Appendices of the Lincolnshire Development Roads and Sustainable Drainage Design Approach available at: https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/highways-planning

For the technical validation checklist used for all types and scale of development during the planning process.

7. Please refer to the answers provided above.

8. Please refer to the answers provided above.