Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

A step-by-step guide to planning trunk roads

We only propose a trunk road if there is a strong case for improving an existing road or building a new one and alternative solutions cannot meet the need. This is a general guide to the procedures which we follow, although they may vary depending on the type of road scheme involved.

Adding the road scheme to the roads programme

We may identify problems on the motorway and trunk road networks, and ideas for new schemes to solve those problems, or they may be brought to our attention by local authorities and others. We carry out preliminary investigations to identify possible ways of solving the problems. The Secretary of State for Transport then decides whether a new scheme should be added to the roads programme.

Consulting the public

We publish a free consultation document and send it to people whose property may be needed for the road scheme. In this document, we give details of different routes and the likely effect on the environment.

We ask for the views of interested organisations and the general public.

The Secretary of State for Transport may decide to buy properties which are on the consultation routes. At this stage the people who own the properties on these routes can ask us to buy their homes (blight).

The full public consultation procedure may be changed or missed out in a few cases, for example where only one route is suitable. If public consultation does not take place, the proposal is announced in the same way as the preferred route (see below).

Announcing the preferred route

All the responses to the consultation document are considered. Then, if the Secretary of State decides to go ahead with the scheme, he announces the preferred route together with the reasons for his choice.

We tell the local authority the preferred route and they put this on their land register. If you are planning to buy a property, a land search enquiry at the local authority will tell you if the property you are interested in is on a preferred route and if a trunk road is planned within 200 metres of the property.

Home owners on the preferred route can serve a 'blight notice' at this stage, telling us they would like us to buy their property (Blight).

The Secretary of State for Transport may decide to buy homes not on the preferred route but which, in his opinion, are likely to be seriously affected by the work or the new road. So, at this stage, home owners near the preferred route can ask us to buy their homes.

Publishing draft statutory orders and an environmental statement

We publish draft statutory orders and a formal environmental statement. If statutory orders are not needed, for example because we do not need to buy any land, we may still publish a formal environment statement, showing the possible effects of the scheme on the environment.

We advertise the draft statutory orders and let the public know where they can go to inspect them and the time limits for making objections.

We write to the people who live in the properties we need for the scheme to tell them that we have published the orders and what the time limits are for making objections. We also send them a copy of the draft compulsory purchase order.

Holding a public inquiry

If we cannot settle objections to the compulsory purchase order, we usually hold a public inquiry with an independent inspector.

We will advertise the public inquiry widely, including announcements in local newspapers. We will contact the people who have made objections to tell them about the inquiry.

Announcing the decision and making orders

The Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport consider all objections and the inspector's report if there has been a public inquiry. They then make a joint decision on the road scheme. We tell people who have objected about this decision and announce the decision in the local papers.

If the Secretaries of State for the Environment and for Transport approve the scheme, we then make the statutory orders.

You can challenge the orders in the High Court within 6 weeks of their being announced.

Taking over the land

We send the people who own and the people who live in the properties included in the compulsory purchase order a notice to treat. We also send them a set of claim forms so that they can set out the details of their claim for compensation.

We may need to have the property before we have completed the purchase of it. If so, we will give those who live in and own it a notice to enter. We will normally discuss our needs with them before we give them the notice, and we will give them as much warning as possible (usually far more than the 14 days we have to give by law).

Starting work

We can now start work on the road.

The road opens

If your property loses value when the road opens to traffic you can claim compensation. You must normally do this between 1 and 7 years after the road has opened.