Permit Scheme for Road and Street Activities

Overview

Extension of time for consultation

Birmingham City Council have previously consulted on its proposed Permit Scheme which was due to close on 23 October 2020, during this time it has become clear that a number of works promoters were not given the opportunity to review and comment on the document. It has also been necessary to carry out a further review of the document based on observations made during the first phase of consultation and regulatory updates.

A revised consultation document has been added below (version 1.6) alongside the previous version (version 1.5).

Consultation details

Birmingham City Council is introducing a permit scheme for street and road works.

This will mean that anyone who plans to carry out work on the highway, including carriageways, footways, cycle tracks and verges will require a permit from the council.

This includes activities such as work carried out by utility companies (e.g. water, gas, power, telecoms) and work to  alter or maintain the highway and any structure or street furniture involved in the road’s operation (e.g. road signs, street lighting, traffic signals, crossing points, over/under passes).

It does not include activities which require a license, such as erecting scaffold or hoarding, or placing a skip on the public highway – for these activities you will need to apply for the relevant license.

The move to a permit scheme will mean we can better coordinate and monitor works, and reduce disruption to local communities and road users. It is also a tool that will allow us to better engage with all works promoters and assist in a more joined up approach to the coordination of works.

Please feel free to circulate to any relevant colleagues in your individual organisations, we would however appreciate a coordinated response per organisation. Responses can be submitted on this website or sent to trafficmanagementservices@birmingham.gov.uk.

What has happened so far?

Four years ago, we developed a proposed permit scheme and carried out informal consultation exercises with the Department for Transport (DFT), works promoters, neighbouring local authorities and other internal and external service providers.

A formal consultation on the scheme document took place in late 2016, following which some minor changes were made.

We are now ready to move forward with implementation of the scheme and have commissioned a review of the scheme document and team structure.

This review is complete, and we are carrying out this final consultation with statutory consultees and key stakeholders.

What happens next?

Following this consultation, we will review all your comments and, if required, make changes to the permit scheme document.

We expect the permit scheme to be in operation from April 2021.