Renfrewshire Council

When new or re-development requires changes to roads (carriageways, footways, verges etc) or requires to build new ways (roads, footways, cycle-ways etc), the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 requires permissions to be given by the Roads Authority.

Permissions are normally given under Section 56 (Control of works and excavations) for changes to existing roads and under Section 21 (Roads Construction Consent, RCC) for new roads, and the processes are similar. If your development involves building a road-related structure, which you intend to have adopted by the Council upon completion, you must also obtain Technical Approval of the structure from Renfrewshire Council.

To ease the process we encourage pre-application discussions with our Development Roads and/or Structures teams early in the process.  In the first instance, this commonly involves a phone call or you e-mailing initial sketches and us outlining our requirements. You can contact the team by emailing dc@renfrewshire.gov.uk or by calling 0300 300 0380.

In many instances, contact will normally already have been made via the planning permission process and our team will be aware of your development. In most situations, new roads require separate planning permission.

Applications require about six weeks to process from agreeing final proposals so it is better to make contact as soon as possible.

Section 56 applications require 3 paper copies of drawings to be submitted with a covering letter requesting permission. When the application is satisfactory, it will be 'docqueted' and one copy returned to the applicant with permissions and usually with standard conditions to ensure notice is given for inspections to be undertaken and the works are kept clean and safe.

Like the above, Section 21, Roads Construction Consent, applications require three paper copies of drawings but it also requires you to follow the process laid out in the National Roads Development Guide, notifying relevant parties using the appropriate forms, which can be found in the related documents section of this page.

Inspection charges vary according to the size, duration and complexity of the projects and a budget of around £20/ £1000 value should be initially allowed (min charge £165).

When roads are built to serve housing The Security of Private Road Works (Scotland) Act 1986 requires that provision is made to safeguard completion and that financial provision is made by either a Road Bond or cash deposit with the roads authority.

For more information, email dc@renfrewshire.gov.uk or call 0300 300 0380.