Ceredigion County Council website

There are two main types of motor rallies – closed road, and open road rallies.

Closed road rallies

Close Road motor rallies may be authorised on public highways provided that the roads involved are closed to the public via a Temporary Traffic Order made or authorised by Ceredigion County Council (CCC). The organisers of these types of event pay the cost of this. This type of rally permits racing, or trials of speed between motor vehicles and/or against the clock.

Open Road rallies

Open Road motor rallies do not permit racing or trials of speed. The situation regarding motor rallies on open public highway is as follows:

1. CCC does not authorise this type of event. Consent is provided for events off public highway where a route make use of or crosses, any public right of way (under Section 33 of the Road Traffic Act 1988).
2. Provided that vehicles are taxed, insured, have valid MOT certificates where necessary, are road legal, and that drivers hold valid licences and have insurance, any member of the public may of course use any public highway at any time. Any member of the public is bound by any restrictions (e.g. speed limits, one ways etc.) and general regulations (e.g. Give Way, double white centrelines) on any section of public highway. Please note that any possible contravention of the above would be a matter for the police to consider, CCC has no powers in relation to enforcement of these.
3. Section 12 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 sets out that a person who promotes or takes part in a race or trial of speed between motor vehicles on a public highway is guilty of an offence.
4. However, it is possible to introduce a competitive element to Open Road motor rallies, by encouraging drivers to arrive at set waypoints/staging points at a particular time. No time or speed schedule must be imposed which requires or encourages competitors, while using a highway open to the public, to achieve an average speed between any two points that exceeds the following:

1. 1. 30mph for cars in the case of all highways other than motorways.
   2. for sections run on minor roads under 4m width during daylight hours the average speed may not be greater than 20mph.
   3. 25mph in the case of any class of vehicle subject to a lower national speed limit than a car (e.g. vans).
   4. 20mph for cars on neutral sections (sensitive, densely populated areas) except on A or B Class Roads.
   5. there must be no bonus for exceeding the average speeds specified above. Competitors must be given all necessary information to enable them to calculate the speed they are being asked to average in advance.

Applications for Section 33 Consent for rallies off public highway that make use of or cross any public right of way.

Please note that there is a charge for assessing applications, payable in advance of processing the application. Applications must include a map showing all sections of public rights of way that are proposed to be affected, plus formal evidence of agreement from all owners’ of land over which any affected public rights of way crosses. This is usually in the form of a list of signatures and addresses/indications as to the section of a public right of way to which the consent applies. Details of any Risk Assessment Method Statements completed by the Organiser (templates are available on the Motorsport UK website), marshal point locations, number of competitor vehicles (or an estimate where final numbers are not yet available), and event timings and key locations would also be useful to support an application.

Applications are assessed for environmental impacts, and conditions may be applied to the Section 33 Consent. Please note that a Section 33 Consent does not grant the right to close any public right of way. It is the responsibility of rally organisers to ensure that any public right of way remains open to the general public for their safe use during any event. Where the organisers’ own risk assessment suggests that the route should not be accessible to the general public during the event, or the Council consider that marshalling alone is insufficient to ensure the safety of the general public, an application must be made to temporarily close the public right of way. An additional charge is required for such a closure.

Depending on the route and dates of the event, various conditions may be applied to any Section 33 Consent, which must be complied with for the Consent to be valid. Often, for routes passing through land managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW), or passing through or near Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSIs) or Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), organisers may also be required to consult with NRW. Details of the locations of SSSIs and SACs are available on the NRW website and at the Welsh Government’s Datamap Wales. Applicants may wish to discuss their route with NRW prior to applying to the Council for Section 33 Consent, and allow sufficient lead time to complete that.

Details of charges may be found on our Fees and Charges page.

All applications should allow an absolute minimum of 12 weeks lead time in order for assessment and, where applicable, the granting of Consent