Ceredigion County Council

As their title suggests, these introduce permanent restrictions or prohibitions on the highway, but these may nevertheless actually operate during set times, for instance a limit on waiting within a bay that operates from 9am to 6pm.

The process for the introduction of a permanent TRO by law includes the following stages:

1. Statutory consultation with the emergency services, representative bodies of road user groups such as road hauliers and bus companies, County Councillors, and Town/Community Councils.
2. Public consultation via formal notice (Notice of Intention) in the local press and displayed on site on the roads affected. A 21-day objection period commences the day the notice is advertised in the press during which interested parties may raise objections. Please note that there is no legal requirement for the Council to specifically contact individual residents or businesses, and that doing so would often place an intolerable burden on available resources.
3. Any objections received during the 21-day consultation period are formally considered through the Council's Delegated Decision Procedure, where a decision on how the proposal will be taken forward is made. If it is decided that changes to the proposal are needed in light of any objections, the full consultation process must be repeated.
4. Following successful completion of the above steps, the TRO will then be formally made and the provision of any necessary signs and lines co-ordinated with the date on which the TRO comes into force. A Notice of Making is published in the local press to advise that the Order has been made.

The TRO process can take many months to complete, especially if objections result in the TRO being changed and re-advertised. A TRO can remain in operation indefinitely and if the Council needs to modify or revoke a TRO, it must follow the same procedure as detailed above.

How to Comment or Object to a Proposed TRO

The Notice of Intention includes information on how to submit a comment or objection to a proposal. Objections must be in writing and can therefore be submitted by post or email, must include the reasons for objecting, and must be submitted before the end of the consultation period, which is clearly stated in the Notice of Intention in the press and on site.

With the exception of speed limit TROs, at the end of the consultation period, any comments or objections received are formally considered by officers, the Local member and referred to the Council’s Cabinet for a determination.

For speed limit TROs, powers delegated to the Corporate Lead Officer – Highways and Environmental Services may be used to adjudicate objections.

The decision making procedure can be lengthy depending on the level of feedback received, but on average it can take anywhere from 4 to 16 weeks. Once a decision has been reached only those who submitted a comment or objection will be formally notified of the outcome.

Appeals

If you feel that the Council has not followed the legally set out process for introducing a TRO, you can appeal to the High Court within 6 weeks of the TRO having been formally made.

Details of Traffic Orders that the Council is currently consulting on or which have been recently been made following the end of the consultation process can be found at Proposed/Experimental/Recently made Traffic Orders

The above regulations give the Local Authority powers to apply temporary traffic restrictions to publically maintained roads. We use Temporary Traffic Regulation Notices (TTRNs) and Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) to cover planned events, activities and roadworks on/in the highway.

TTRNs and TTRO's are normally used to allow essential or emergency works to be safely carried out on the highway, typically installation of, or maintenance works to services such as gas, electricity and water and also highway maintenance.

A TTRN or TTRO may temporarily be used to:

• Close a road or public right of way.
• Change an existing one way system.
• Change existing on-street parking arrangements.
• Change existing speed or weight restrictions.
• Change an existing right or left turn only.
• Suspend an existing permanent Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) e.g. one way street, parking (including parking bays), to ensure safety whilst works take place.

TTRN: The Local Authority (LA) has the powers under this Regulation to authorise a temporary traffic restriction under Notice primarily for emergency works that need an immediate restriction to be implemented in order to safeguard road users or when planned work is programmed for 5 days or less.

The process of arranging a TTRN requires an application to be made to the County Council as the Local Highway Authority for approval. Planned TTRN applications require a minimum lead in time of 3 weeks for the necessary notification to Statutory Undertakers to be carried out and documents to be produced. Once the Notice has been approved and made enforceable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all the correct traffic management systems are in place.

TTRO: The LA has the powers under this Regulation to authorise a temporary traffic restriction under Order for planned works over 5 days or for emergency works that extend beyond the 42 day period allowed by the regulations of the Notice.

A TTRO is a signed and sealed Order and can be valid for up to 18 months under the Regulations. Planned TTRO applications require a minimum lead in time of 6 weeks for the necessary notification to Statutory Undertakers to be carried out and documents to be produced. Separate publications of the intent and making of the restriction order have to be advertised in a local newspaper. Once the Order has been approved by the LA and made enforceable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all the correct safe traffic management arrangements are in place.

S.16a restriction on roads in connection with certain events: The LA has the powers under this Regulation to implement a temporary restriction for a sporting or social event, or entertainment which is held in the road. However before making the Order the LA shall satisfy themselves that it is not reasonably practicable for the event to be held off-road.

Special Event Restriction Order applications require a minimum lead in time of 12 weeks to allow notification to be sent to Interested Parties (i.e. Stakeholders, Emergency Services, Local Members) and the necessary documents to be produced. Once the Order has been approved by the LA and made enforceable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all the safe traffic management systems are in place.

Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Section 21: The LA has the powers under this Regulation to implement a temporary restriction for an event where streets are likely to be busy and liable to obstruction, typically used for public processions, celebrations or illuminations. However before making the Order the LA shall satisfy themselves that it is not reasonably practicable for the event to be held off-road.
Special Event Restriction Order applications require a minimum lead in time of 12 weeks to allow notification to be sent to Interested Parties (i.e. Stakeholders, Emergency Services, Local Members) Once the Order has been approved by the LA and made enforceable, it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all the safe traffic management systems are in place.

To view details of active road closures and special events in Ceredigion, or to access application forms, please visit the Ceredigion County Council’s Road Closures Webpage

An Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) is like a Permanent Traffic Regulation Order - it is a legal document which imposes traffic and parking restrictions, but it only has a maximum 18 month duration. ETROs are used to see if the measures they introduce work in practice.

We welcome feedback throughout the process, however, formal objections to an ETRO must be made in the first six months of it coming into force, since they should be based on how the measures actually function.

After 6 months, the Council can decide if the ETRO needs amending in some way, revoking, or should be made permanent. The decision will follow our formal decision-making process, usually this means it will be decided by our Cabinet.

Appeals

If you feel that the Council has not followed the legally set out process for introducing an ETRO, you can appeal to the High Court within 6 weeks of the ETRO having been formally made.

Visit our consultations page to see ETROs that are currently in the first 6 months of their operation.

Information about Traffic Regulation Orders

Information about any TROs that are currently the subject of public consultation is available to view at Proposed/Experimental/Recently made Traffic Orders

Information about existing TROs is available by contacting: clic@ceredigion.gov.uk

The regulations governing the Traffic Order process are available at: www.legislation.gov.uk