- Pre-application advice
- Temporary Directional Signing of New Housing Developments
- General principles for development (Adopted 7th March 2023)
- Estate road adoption
- Housing estate road construction specification (Adopted 7th March 2023)
- Commuted Sums Policy (Adopted 7 March 2023)
- S38 Agreement bond sums
- Signal design
- Bridges
- Street lighting
Pre-application advice
We provide advice on measures to mitigate the impact that any proposed development will have on the road network. This includes advising planning authorities when a development will affect the highway.
We recognise the value of early engagement with developers and other stakeholders. This can enable a clear understanding between relevant parties of what facilities and infrastructure will be necessary to support development.
We encourage pre-application discussions on these matters at the earliest opportunity as this can help identify key considerations earlier, paving the way to a quicker and smoother planning application process.
For developers seeking highways development pre-application advice and details about charges for the following types of development.
Category 1 Proposals - Small Scale
- Proposals for up to 5 residential units
- Proposals for between 100 and 500 sqm of commercial floor space
- Change of use up to 500 sqm
- Proposals for Small Mixed use developments of up to 2 dwellings and 300 sqm commercial use floor space
Category 2 Proposals - Medium Scale
- Proposals for between 6 and 50 residential units
- Proposals for between 500 and 1000 sqm of commercial floor space
- Change of use up to 1000 sqm
- Proposals for Medium Mixed use developments of up to 24 dwellings and 500 sqm commercial use floor space
Please complete the online application form below (where full details of the charges are provided).
For developers seeking highways pre-application advice and details about charges on large, major or strategic scale developments please go to our Developing new communities page.
Temporary Directional Signing of New Housing Developments
We provide advice on temporary directional signage for development sites to be positioned within the highway. Please complete the online application form below to make a request (where full details of the charges are provided). Following receipt, Cambridgeshire County Council will write to confirm the outcome of the application.
Application Requirements
- Please ensure any application meets all of the temporary directional signage requirements as detailed in the Cambridgeshire County Council Housing Estate Road Construction Specification, item 5 on page 6, (opens as a .pdf)
- The maximum number of permitted directional signs per development application shall be two (2).
- Approved applications are granted for an initial 12-month period only and must be renewed for a further 12 month period for the sign placements to continue. Any time expired approved signs shall be removed by the Local Highway Authority without notice.
- Details of the proposed sign type and 1:2500 plans detailing the proposed locations for the signs shall be submitted by the applicant for approval by the Local Highway Authority.
- The signs must not be erected on any “Give Way”, “Speed limit” or any other mandatory highway signs.
- If any directional signs are to be attached to a Cambridgeshire County Council lighting column or any electrically powered county asset, you will also require a Street Lighting attachment license. Please refer to the Street Lighting Attachments section on our Street Lighting page.
- For all directional signage renewal applications, the developer shall evidence the build programme to demonstrate the need for the renewal.
- Operatives erecting the signs shall be accredited to NRSWA Unit 01 Signing, Lighting and Guarding. Prior to the installation of the signage, £5m of public liability insurance shall be in place and the site risk assessed to determine whether traffic management and road space booking are required. If road space is required, please refer to our Highway Licences and Permits page.
- Should any application require a refund, a £50 processing fee will be applicable.
- It will be the responsibility of the developer or their agent to inform Cambridgeshire County Council at HighwaysDevelopment.Management@cambridgeshire.gov.uk when the signs have been removed.
- Any unauthorised placement of development directional signs shall be removed without notification by the Local Highway Authority and any future sign applications for the development shall not be granted.
General principles for development (Adopted 7th March 2023)
The following document outlines the County Council’s expectations and basic standards in relation to adoptable highway infrastructure, and new developments affecting the public highway.
Please see the following frequently asked questions detailing the process of how a private estate road can become adopted as highway maintainable at public expense.
Estate road adoption
Further advice on the adoption of new and existing streets is available on the Department for Transport Website.
To apply for a Section 38 (new highway for adoption by the County Council) or Section 106/278 (works altering existing highway) agreement, please refer to the relevant instructions below, supplying all the requested documents. Short Form S278 Agreements may be used for minor highway works not exceeding 75k, which do not require independent Road Safety Audit or the dedication of land as public highway. All Works must conform to our construction specifications.
All designs submitted as part of a Section 278, 38 or 106 application should be sent directly to Development Management.
All road safety audit requests should be passed through the Development Management Engineer dealing with your application. See our road safety audit page for more information on this process.
Housing estate road construction specification (Adopted 7th March 2023)
Construction intended for adoption must comply with the current Housing Estate Road Construction Specification (HERCS).
Highway designs should embrace the principles in the Manual for Streets (MfS). Please note that some dimensions contained within the MfS documents are not suitable for adoption by the County Council, as set out in the ‘General Principles for Development’ document.
To discuss adoption requirements for a given development please contact the Highway Development Management Team by email HighwaysDevelopment.Management@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
AutoCad files of the drawings contained within the current HERCS Appendices are available at the following link. You will require specific software to view such documents a basic Autodesk
Viewer can be downloaded from the internet.
Use of Incinerator Bottom Ash Aggregate (IBAA) in Housing Estate Roads
The use of unbound Incinerator Bottom Ash Aggregate (IBAA) in housing estate roads is currently permitted in principle as an alternative to SHW Type 1 or HER Cambs Spec sub-base. In considering the use of IBAA, the designer and developer's attention is specifically drawn to the requirements and guidance issued by the Environment Agency in Regulatory Position Statement 247 (opens gov.uk).
In addition, we have published guidance for the approval, placement and management of IBAA within proposed adoptable highway infrastructure which is available in the following document.
We issue a Certificate of Compliance to approved providers for the supply of IBAA. The certificate relates to material that has been evaluated in approved blends depending upon the type of material that is being supplied, and where testing has shown such blends to comply with the relevant specifications. However, the provider must demonstrate ongoing compliance.
Cambridgeshire County Council as Local Highway Authority does not advocate, permit or consent to the use of IBAA in any other development scenario; further, the Certificate of Compliance cannot be relied upon in any development scenario other than those expressly approved by the County Council in a site-specific adoptable highway.
Commuted Sums Policy (Adopted 7 March 2023)
Following the Highways and Transport Committee of the above date, the County Council adopted the attached Commuted Sum Policy for new highway infrastructure works. It is proposed that the Commuted Sums Policy will be implemented from 1 April 2023. However, officers will exercise some discretion in the application of the policy during the period to 1 August 2023. This will facilitate communications to developers during the transitional period.
S38 Agreement bond sums
From April 2024 Bond sums or security deposits for new housing estate road infrastructure will be based upon the following standard linear metre rates.
- Carriageway (including adjacent footways): £2025.00 per linear metre
- Cycleway: £510.00 per linear metre
- Footpath: £405.00 per linear metre
Signal design
To discuss and receive our latest specification please email signals@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Bridges
The assessment of structures within proposed highway will incur additional charges. To discuss your requirements please contact highways@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
Street lighting
Street lighting must comply to the latest specification as found in the council's Highways policies. Following the submission of S278/ S38 engineering details to Highway Development Management, the engineer will review the extent of the works to ensure compliance with the principles of the planning permission and that the adoptable extent is correct (in relation to new housing estate roads). The submission will then be passed to the Street Lighting Team to issue a Design Brief for the street lighting design.
The current street lighting specification can be viewed here.
Please note that developers are responsible for all energy charges until adoption takes place.