Commercial groundworks
Section 278 works for developers and main contractors
New site entrances, footway crossings, kerbs, gullies and surfacing on the public road, built to your approved drawings under a section 278 agreement. NRSWA accredited, from our Southport yard across the North West.
- NRSWA
- Accredited for street works
- £10M
- Public liability insurance
- Upper-tier
- Environment Agency waste carrier
- CSCS
- Carded crews, RAMS supplied
What a section 278 agreement is, in plain English
The public road and pavement outside your site belong to the highway authority, usually the council. You cannot alter them yourself, even if your planning permission needs a new entrance.
A section 278 agreement, named after section 278 of the Highways Act 1980, is the contract that makes it possible. The developer agrees with the council what will be built on the public road, to what standard, and pays for all of it. The council checks the design, inspects the work, and takes it back on once it is finished.
It covers work on roads that are already public. New estate roads that the council will adopt are a different agreement, under section 38.
It is not just roundabouts
Plenty of section 278 jobs are small. Typical ones:
- A new entrance into a housing site, shop or industrial unit
- A new vehicle crossing over the pavement for a single new house
- Closing an old entrance: full height kerbs back in and the pavement rebuilt
- Rebuilding the pavement along the front of a new development
- Dropped kerbs and tactile paving (the bumpy slabs) where people cross
- Widening the road or adding a turning lane into a site
- Moving drains, gullies or a lamp post that is in the way of the new access
What we build on a section 278 scheme
The groundworks on the public road, built to the approved drawings and the council's specification.
Breaking out and digging
Cutting and breaking out the old road and pavement, and digging down to formation (the firm ground the new road build-up sits on). Spoil taken away by us as a registered waste carrier.
Kerbs and footways
New kerb lines, radius kerbs into a bellmouth (the flared mouth of a site entrance), dropped kerbs, and pavements rebuilt to the council's specification.
Drainage
Road gullies moved or added, and the pipes connecting them, so the new road surface drains the way the design says.
Sub-base and surfacing
Type 1 sub-base (crushed stone, compacted in layers) laid and rolled, then tarmac surfacing to the specified thicknesses.
Who does what
Four parties are involved. Knowing who is responsible for what saves weeks.
| Who | What they do |
|---|---|
| The developer | Signs the agreement with the council, pays for the works and the council's fees, and puts up the bond. |
| The developer's highway engineer | Designs the works and gets the drawings through the council's technical approval. |
| The council (highway authority) | Checks the design, sets the specification, approves the start date, inspects the work and finally adopts it. |
| Darker Property Services | Builds it to the approved drawings, with NRSWA qualified people on the road, and puts right anything the inspector picks up. |
How a section 278 scheme runs
From the planning condition to the council taking the road back. The first three steps sit with the developer and their engineer.
- 1
Planning condition
The planning permission says the road works must be done, usually before the site is occupied.
- 2
Design and approval
The developer's engineer designs it and the council checks it. This is called technical approval.
- 3
Agreement and bond
The developer signs the section 278 agreement, pays the council's fees and puts up a bond.
- 4
Price and programme
We price the works from the approved drawings and agree a start date with you and the council.
- 5
Build
Traffic management up, old surface out, then drainage, kerbs, sub-base and surfacing, inspected by the council as we go.
- 6
Handover
The council signs off the finished work. It is usually called the provisional certificate.
- 7
Maintenance period
Often 12 months. Any defects that show up are put right before the council takes it on for good.
- 8
Adoption
The council issues the final certificate, releases the bond, and the road is theirs to maintain.
What we need before we start
- The drawings with the council's technical approval
- The signed section 278 agreement, with the bond in place
- The council's start date and permit to work on the road
- The council's specification for materials and thicknesses
- A site contact and where we can set up and store materials
What we send you
With the quote: our £10 million public liability certificate, our Environment Agency upper-tier waste carrier registration, NRSWA street works accreditation, and the CPCS or NPORS cards for our machine operators.
We work up to 30 miles from our Southport yard, and further for larger jobs.
Questions people ask
What is a section 278 agreement?
A legal agreement between a developer and the highway authority, under section 278 of the Highways Act 1980. It lets work be done on an existing public road or pavement to serve a new development, with the developer paying for it. Without one, nobody can alter the public road for a private development.
When do I need one?
When your planning permission needs changes to a public road or pavement: a new or wider entrance, a new footway crossing, an old access closed off, or a junction changed. It is normally written into the planning conditions, so check those first. Works inside your own site boundary do not need one.
Who pays for section 278 works?
The developer. That covers the building work, the council's fees for checking the design and inspecting the work, their legal costs, and sometimes a commuted sum (a one-off payment towards looking after things like extra street lights or trees in the future).
What is the bond for?
It is the council's safety net. If the works are left unfinished, the council can use the bond to finish them. It is released once the work is signed off at the end of the maintenance period. Some councils take a cash deposit instead.
Can my own contractor do the work?
Often, yes. Many councils let the developer's contractor build it to the approved drawings, with council inspectors checking it. Some councils prefer to build section 278 works themselves. We can tell you once we know where the site is.
What is the difference between section 278 and section 38?
Section 278 is for work on a road that is already public. Section 38 is for a brand new road, such as an estate road on a housing site, that the council agrees to adopt and look after once it is built. Big sites often have both.
What does NRSWA mean?
The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. Anyone digging in a public road must have a qualified operative on site the whole time and the site must be supervised by a qualified supervisor. The qualifications are on a card from the Street Works Qualifications Register. We are NRSWA accredited.
Is it the council or National Highways?
Most roads belong to the local council. Motorways and the main trunk roads belong to National Highways, which has its own section 278 process. The drawings or planning conditions will say which.
How long does it take?
The paperwork takes longest: design, approval and the legal agreement can take months, so start early. The building work for a single site entrance is often a few weeks. Once the agreement is signed, we agree a start date with you and aim to be on site as soon as we can.
Also worth a look
Send us the approved drawings
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