Road closures

All organisers will need to provide a detailed explanation in their application as to why they are seeking a road closure. It is important that you explain in detail what takes place at your event and what activities involve the highway so that we can determine if it can be covered under the TPC legislation.

The following documents must be submitted for all road closures at the time of application:

• Public Liability Insurance (£5 million minimum)
• Health and Safety Risk Assessment
• Signage Schedule (map of the roads to be closed and what signage you will use and where is will be placed)
• A diversion plan (if applicable)

Your road closure request will then be reviewed in consultation with Kent Police and Kent County Council.

Please note that any road closure that includes parking bays will also need to be suspended by the event as part of the closure. There will be additional costs. Please refer to our Parking Suspension tab for further detail.

Yes. Under the law, highways must not be interfered with in an unlawful manner. Permission is needed to allow the local authority and the police to treat the event as a lawful interference of the highway. This permission would also include an event that moves along the highway e.g. procession or is in a fixed location but of very short duration. This would usually be a road closure made under the Town Police Clauses Act.

If the event is in a fixed location on the highway, and the Police feel they cannot support it under the Town Police Clauses Act for any reason, permission will then be needed from Kent Highway Services to close the road under the provisions of Road Traffic Regulation Act.

Under the Town Police Clauses Act the Police may charge for dealing with the event. There is a charge of £176.00 (subject to change) for a closure made under this Act to cover administration costs incurred by the local authority there may also be additional charges for suspending parking bays.

A closure made under the Road Traffic Regulation Act can only be obtained from Kent Highway Services; you will need to contact them if you require this type of closure.

Yes you can use your own contractor however they will need to hold a NRSWA accreditation. We have to be certain that your contractor is competent and accredited and has the necessary public liability insurance.

We need to process your application and inform other partner agencies of the request. As part of our preparation for your event we will need to check what road works are planned in the area at the time of the event to ensure the minimum disruption to local residents and other road users. The law requires that the closure be advertised, we need to allow sufficient time for the advertisements to be placed. Any applications made without the minimum of 12 weeks notice will not be processed.

You may be required to close the event immediately and remove any stalls, trailers or attractions from the highway.

You may be prosecuted for a number of offences, your public liability Insurance may also be invalidated making you fully liable for any costs.

It is necessary to consider the impact your event might have on the highway surrounding the event, pedestrian movements; on street parking and emergency access are just some of the things that must be considered. We can work with you to resolve any problems so your event can go ahead.

Emergency access is the space that is required for the emergency services to respond to an incident and the space required for the largest emergency vehicle to operate safely, usually 3.6 metres. This space might vary in different areas but it is never less than 3 metres

You will not be able to make amendments to your application once inside the 12 week period, however when you make your initial application you can ask for more road closures than you require, there is no additional cost. The signage and closures can then be adjusted to suit your event.

The person organising the event on the highway will have to arrange public liability insurance. The insurance is needed to indemnify the Police, County Council, Borough or District Council and their servants and agents from all claims and costs arising from the event however caused. The level of cover required is £5 million for an unlimited number of claims. Kent Highway Services will require proof of the existence of the insurance cover prior to the issue of any permission.

• Please consider the following factors in the earliest planning stages:
• Plan the event to take place out of peak traffic hours. (such as 7am to 9.30am and 4pm to 6pm)
• Are there any lessons from previous events that need to be taken into account?
• Do you have enough resources to procure and maintain the signs needed?
• Are staff competent and trained to place, maintain and remove signs?
• Have you applied for and received permission for the closure from the district council or traffic authority?
• Have you consulted with local residents/businesses/organisations or local disability groups about the closure?
• What are the options for diversion routes? Kent County Council or Thanet District Council will ultimately decide what the diversion route is, but it helps to consider it at an early stage.
• Are there any motorways or major roads that might be affected? If so, a closure may well be refused or direction signing could be prohibitively expensive.
• Have you consulted with local bus companies and/or emergency services regarding the closure?
• Have you made any contingency plans for emergency access to your closure, for example to attend an accident?
• What plans are there to remove broken down vehicles from within the closure or the diversion routes?
• What plans have been made to avoid/remove vehicles already in place before the closure starts?
• What plans are there to enable businesses or residents to access their property within the closure?
• What training/briefings will be provided to event staff managing the closure?