Section 50 Applications
Developments, Solar & Wind Farms
Introduction 3
Section 1 - Licence Administration Procedures 5
Subsection 1.1 - Application 5
Subsection 1.2 - Noticing Requirements 6
Subsection 1.3 - Fees 9
Subsection 1.4 - Licence Conditions 9
Introduction
The requirement under section 50, Schedule 3 of the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991 to obtain a Street Works Licence applies to any person or organization (other than a Statutory Undertaker) who wishes to place, or to retain, apparatus in the street and thereafter inspect, maintain, adjust, repair, alter or renew the apparatus, change its position or remove it. The term apparatus includes drains, cables, ducts, sewer pipes, gas pipes or similar.
The person granted the street works licence (licensee), becomes an Undertaker for the purpose of The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and therefore attracts the relevant duties and responsibilities imposed by the Act, associated Secondary Legislation and Codes of Practice.
The Street Authority for the purpose of the Section 50 of The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 is Cornwall Council (The Council). All reference to the Street Authority and to The Council are to be construed as reference to Cornwall Council, unless the context requires otherwise.
The issuing of a licence does not remove the obligation on the licensee from obtaining any other consent, licence, or provision which may be required; this includes any connections for discharging into highway maintained apparatus. In particular, permission to connect to a sewer must be sought from the relevant authority.
The licensee will remain responsible for every aspect of the works, except as set out in section 6 of the licence, and by signed agreement with the contractor.
The Street Authority must be permitted to monitor performance throughout all stages of the works. And the licensee MUST ensure that the Street Authority is notified as to when the works will start, finish.
All reinstatement dimensions must be in accordance with the procedures as laid down by the Codes of Practice relating to this matter.
The licensee is required to guarantee the works for two years for excavations up to 1.5 metres deep, or three years if exceeding 1.5 metres deep. The guarantee period does not begin until the permanent reinstatement has been completed.
It is the duty of the Licensee when executing the Works involving:
· breaking up the street
· a drain or tunnel under it, or
· tunnelling or boring under the street
to ensure that, the execution of the Works is supervised by a person having a prescribed Streetworks supervisor qualification when works are in progress, and at least one person having a prescribed qualification as a trained operative.
The Licence hereby granted shall remain in force until:-
• it is surrendered to the Council by the Licensee or
• the Highway is permanently stopped up in which event this Licence shall terminate immediately.
Where the Licensee proposes to abandon the Apparatus he shall give the Council at least six weeks' written notice before so doing.
A cash bond will be payable to the Authority if the length of trench exceeds 10 metres in length. The amount of bond will be determined by the Authority and will be proportional to the risk of the project to the Council. This risk will be determined by the traffic sensitivity, classification of road and impact on the highway.
Applicants should note that special conditions may be imposed by the Street Authority:
· In the interests of safety
· To minimize the inconvenience to persons using the street (having regard, in particular, to the needs of people with a disability)
· To protect the structure of the street and the integrity of the apparatus in it; for Traffic Sensitive Streets, Streets with Special Engineering Difficulties and Protected Streets.
Section 1– Licence Administration Process
1.1 - Application
In order for the Street Authority to comply with its statutory duty all licence applications must be submitted at least one month in advance of the commencement of the proposed works. N.B. Works requiring a Road Closure will need a separate application, which has a process time of three months unless an alternative agreement is reached.
On receiving the application pack please ensure that ALL the following steps are completed prior to submission:
i. Complete the application form in full.
ii. Send a copy of the STATUTORY UNDERTAKERS DECLARATION form with a copy of your plans to each Statutory Undertaker (See attached list). Please ensure that copies of all responses from the Statutory Undertakers are forwarded to the Street Authority as a licence will not be issued until they have all been received.
iii. Undertake a pre-commencement driven video survey of the site, including proposed diversion routes, which must to be submitted by the Applicant at time of application. (This video will be used after completion of the works to assess any damages occurred as a result of the works, either in the vicinity of the works or leading to the works, such as over running of verges by large vehicles etc.
iv. A detailed technical engineering options report must be submitted to the Authority at time of application explaining why the apparatus needs to be placed in the highway and detailing other engineering options that have been explored as part of this evaluation process.
v. Seven days advance notice must be given, by email or post, to the Street Authority of the intended start date of the works. If the starting date is postponed the Street Authority must be contacted to arrange a new start date.
vi. Send the completed application together with the documents listed in table 1 below to:
Cornwall Council
Streetworks Section
Western Group Centre
Radnor Road
Scorrier
REDRUTH TR16 5EH
1.2 - Noticing Requirements
1.2.1 Pre-commencement
For works in excess of 10 days duration or requiring a temporary traffic order (Road Closure, No Waiting Restriction etc.), the Applicant MUST give 3 months advance notice of the intended start date to the Street Authority by submission of forms SWL2 and N2.
For all works up to 10 days in duration we will require forms SWL2 and N2 to be sent to the Street Authority 4 weeks in advance.
In order to allow the Street Authority to monitor the works you are required to send a notice form N3, for all works, by 16.30 hours one working day after the works have started on site. This will enable the scheduling of appropriate inspections to verify compliance.
This can be done by submitting form N3 or emailing
1.2.2 Post completion of re-instatement
The licensee must inform the Street Authority of the completion of the reinstatement by the end of the following working day, stating whether it is interim or permanent.
Form R1 needs to be submitted no more than 10 working days after the works have stopped stating whether it is interim or permanent, the depth of the reinstatement, location and reinstatement sizes.
If an interim reinstatement is carried out this must be made permanent within 6 months. In this case your contractor will need to submit an N2 notice to advise the Street Authority of date(s) on which the works are going to be completed. All other notices, N3, R1 are to be submitted as set out below.
Immediately following completion of the permanent carriageway re-instatement to undertake an inspection to agree any areas of additional re-instatement as identified by comparison to the pre-commencement video survey.
1.2.3 Post completion of works
The Contractor must inform the Street Authority that the works have been completed and the site clear by 16.30 hours one working day following the completion date. This can be done by submitting form R1 or emailing
The contractor then has 10 working days to submit a completed R1 form, stating whether it is interim or permanent, the depth of the reinstatement, location and reinstatement sizes.
If an interim reinstatement is carried out this must be made permanent within 6 months. In this case a further set of reinstatement forms and instructions will be issued.
After completion of the Works the Licensee agrees to:
· lodge the records set out below with the Council within four weeks of such completion;
· inform the Council within four weeks of any known future alterations to the Apparatus in order that the said records can be suitably amended;
· inform the Council in writing at least 6 weeks before any change of ownership of the Apparatus stating whom the benefit of the Licence is to be transferred to and the date of transfer.
WHICH NOTICE TO USE AND WHEN
Form N2 needs to be submitted at the application stage along with SWL2
Form N2 needs to be submitted to amend dates of an existing licence
Form N3 needs to be submitted by 16.30 hours one working day after the works have begun to advise us that the works have begun
Form N3 needs be submitted if the works are going to continue longer than the initial prescribed period. This must be done by 16.30 hours on the last day of your exiting licence.
Form R1 needs to be submitted by 16.30 hours one working day after the works have finished.
Form R1 needs to be submitted no more than 10 working days after the works have stopped stating whether it is interim or permanent, the depth of the reinstatement, location and reinstatement sizes
Table 1 – Check list of documentation required
Tick Box / Documents to be submitted as part of application processCompleted application form
1 copy of an appropriate scale plan 1:1250 adequately showing the line of the apparatus in red within the highway (Provided is a link to Cornwall Council Interactive Mapping to help you supply the scale plan required) http://map.cornwall.gov.uk/website/ccmap/
1 copy of an appropriate scale plan 1:1250 adequately showing the proposed traffic management
Evidence of planning permission for new developments, wind or solar farms
Technical engineering options report
Pre-commencement site video survey
Copies of Supervisors and Operatives accreditation
Copy of Public Liability Insurance Certificate for a minimum of £10,000,000
Cheque for the appropriate fee
Request for confirmation of any bonds payable (notify the Authority how payment will be made see clause 1a )
Statutory Undertakers Declaration returns (To avoid delay in processing these can be forwarded after the application form has been sent in)
1.3 – Administration Fees
To Place or Retain apparatus in The Street
Administration £125.00
Capitalised Payment in Lieu of Annual Admin Fee £100.00
Pre commencement Traffic Management site meeting £50.00
Inspection Fees £150.00
£375.00 £425.00
Works in excess of 200 metres length will be subject to additional inspection fees of £150.00 per 200 metres.
1.4 – Licence Conditions
No works of any kind shall be permitted until a licence is issued.
1.4.1 Reinstatement Specification
The backfill reinstatement must be in accordance with Appendix 9 of the NRSWA ‘Specification for the reinstatement of openings in the Highway’, reinstatements with Alternative Reinstatement Materials (ARM’s) - foam concrete. Please ensure that this is communicated to your contractor when employing them so that they are fully aware of the requirements. If you need any further advice please contact Street works.
For surface and binder course reinstatements on flexible roads please refer to NRSWA ‘Specification for the reinstatement of openings in the Highway’ pages 118 – 122.
A full width surface course reinstatement will be required on all carriageways, footways and public right of ways that have been resurfaced within the last three years. This will also be the case if the excavated trench width leaves little structural stability to the edges of the existing road structure or places the joints in the wheel track.
1.4.2 Performance Bond
The Licensee shall deposit the cash bond with the Council before a licence will be issued and such sum shall be placed in an interest bearing account with interest accruing to the Licensee. The Bond required by the Council for the granting of the Licence is conditional upon, and shall not come into effect until, the Licensee deposits the Bond with the Council.
The Bond shall be held by the Council until the end of the Guarantee Period and shall be repaid (with interest, if any) to the Licensee if the Works and the reinstatement and restoration of the Highway have been completed to the satisfaction of the Council (whose decision in this respect shall be final). The Licensee is required to guarantee the works for two years for excavations up to 1.5 metres deep, or three years if exceeding 1.5 metres deep. The bond payment will be retained for the entire duration of the guarantee period. The Licensee shall give the Council written notice two months before the end of the Guarantee Period of its intention to claim reimbursement of the Bond.
In the event of the amount of the Bond exceeding the costs of executing or completing the Works and restoring and reinstating the Highway the amount of such excess (with interest on the unexpended balance) shall be repaid to the Licensee.
In the event of the costs of executing or completing the Works and restoring and reinstating the Highway exceeding the amount of the Bond the Licensee shall pay such excess to the Council forthwith.
1.4.3 Licence Holder Responsibilities
Financial penalties will be imposed by the Street Authority for non-compliance with the relevant statutory duties of licence conditions. If any works are found to be defective, as defined in the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in the Highway, further inspections will be charged per inspection (currently at a rate of £47.50). Licence holders (applicant) should note that this liability cannot be delegated to any other person or organisation.
The guarantee period will begin from the date the Street Authority is notified (by form R1) of the permanent reinstatement and will last for 2 years for excavations up to 1.5m deep and 3 years for excavations exceeding 1.5 metres. The bond will be retained for the duration of the guarantee period.
As the licence is such an important document it is strongly recommended that it be kept with the title deeds to your property. This will ensure that your conveyancing solicitor passes your liability on to any new owner.