Section 278 design
Your highway works designed, submitted and negotiated through to technical approval with the highway authority.
Section 278 design
Highways Consultancy
Section 278 design, approval and delivery, managed end to end.
Does your development need work on a public road? I design it, submit it and manage the process through to technical approval, alongside wider highway design and project management.
No obligation, and the first conversation costs nothing. Or call 07967 123478.
What I do
Three things clients bring me in for
Project management
Programme, budget, risk and contractors held together by one person, to PRINCE2 principles.
Project managementTraining & systems
Bringing your own engineers up to speed, and designing the processes they work to.
Training & systemsAlso available by the hour. A second opinion, a review of someone else's design, or an engineer to represent you at a meeting with the highway authority. Engagements start at a single hour. Ways of working
Why it matters, and why early
Planning permission is not highway approval
Permission means the council accepts the principle of your development. The highway design is approved separately, and to a far greater level of detail.
- First Planning permission The principle is accepted. The highway drawings that went with it are indicative, not approved.
- Then Section 278 approval The highway design is worked up properly, checked against the authority's standards and formally approved. Solicitors then complete the legal agreement itself.
- Only then Work can start Nobody may touch the public highway until that agreement is in place, whatever stage the rest of the site has reached.
Why me
Twenty years, both sides of the table
I spent most of my career inside a highway authority, latterly leading its design team. I have sat on the side of the table that reviews and approves schemes of this type.
That is the difference. I know what a good submission looks like, which comments are coming before they arrive, and which points are actually worth negotiating. You also deal with me throughout, not an account manager, and there is no consultancy overhead in the fee.
20+
Years designing and delivering highway schemes
1st
Turbo roundabout of its kind in the UK, designed and managed
£2m
Professional Indemnity cover, with £5m Public Liability
One
Point of contact, from first call to final handover
Working directly with your engineer
What that changes for you
Larger practices exist for good reasons, and for some schemes they are the right answer. The differences here are practical ones, and they show up in the programme, the fee and the flexibility.
Continuity of one engineer
The person you speak to first is the one drawing your scheme and sitting opposite the authority. Nothing is relayed second-hand, and nobody is reassigned part way through.
The fee is engineering time
No offices, no layers of management and no business development function to recover through charge-out rates. Senior experience, at rates well below those of a large consultancy.
Commitment that fits the job
An hour, a single scheme, or an agreed number of days each month. No minimum contract, and no expectation that a small piece of work becomes a larger one.
Trusted by
Developers, consultancies and public bodies
The short answers
Questions people ask first
What is a Section 278, in plain English?
The public road belongs to the highway authority, not to you. A Section 278 agreement is the mechanism that lets you carry out works to it at your own cost, once the authority is satisfied the design is safe, buildable and built to their standards.
How do I know if I need one?
You probably do if your planning permission carries a highways condition, if you need a new or altered access onto a public road, or if the authority has asked for a junction, crossing, footway or signals. If a design has already been produced and keeps being rejected, that is the same conversation.
Working out whether it applies to you is usually a short call, and not one I charge for.
What does it cost?
Most Section 278 work is quoted as a fixed price against an agreed scope, so you know the cost before committing. Day rates and hourly advice are also available where a fixed price would only be guesswork.
As an independent there is no office, no management layer and no business development function inside the fee, which is why rates sit well below those of a large consultancy. How engagements are structured
Third-party costs such as road safety audits, specialist surveys and the authority's own fees are separate, and are paid by you directly to the provider. I arrange them, but they are never marked up.
How long does approval take?
It varies by authority, but the single biggest factor is how many rounds of comments the design goes through. A submission that anticipates what that authority expects is approved in a fraction of the time one that does not.
Can you take over a scheme that has stalled?
Yes, and it is a common request. I will review what exists and tell you plainly whether it can be salvaged or is better restarted, with the reasoning either way, before you commit to anything further.
Where do you work?
Most work is commissioned at locations across the UK and delivered remotely, since design, documentation and liaison with the authority do not require me to be local.
Where a scheme needs someone there in person, such as site visits, surveying or meetings at the authority's offices, I cover sites in Kent.
Get started
Tell me about your scheme
Send a site plan, a planning condition, or just a description of the problem. I will tell you honestly what is involved, what it is likely to take, and whether you actually need it.
Enquiries come straight to me. I reply personally, normally within two working days.