Under section 21 the Town Police Clauses Act 1847, the Council are requested from time to time to issue an order for a temporary road closure.

The report sought agreement from Members to the implementation of a Road Closure Policy (‘the Policy’), which would ensure applicants were aware of their responsibilities when organising and implementing any closure and that all relevant safety precautions were considered and properly addressed. 

Traditionally Road closures had been carried out by Essex County Council and a Policy was the needed by Brentwood Borough Council to benefit the community. There were no resources within Brentwood Borough Council for this to take place therefore, fees had been put in place to recover some of the costs.

Brentwood Borough Council fees have been set with a maximum fee of £680.  This fee was cheaper than the fee set at County, as under a separate legislation they had to advertise and Brentwood has no need to advertise. 

A motion was MOVED by Cllr Cloke and was SECONDED by Cllr Rowlands

A vote was taken by a show of hands and it was RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY:

1.            That the Road Closure Policy including the charging structure as attached at Appendix A be approved.

2.            That delegated authority is granted to the Head of Health Safety and Localism and to any officers authorised by him, to issue Road Closure Orders in accordance with the approved Policy.

3.            That delegated authority is granted to head of Health Safety and Localism in consultation with the Chair of the relevant Committee to make minor amendments to the policy, if required in the interests of public safety.

REASON FOR DECISION

It was essential that event organisers when closing roads do so in a safe, secure and legitimate manner, ensuring the safety of public when attending the event as well as those circumventing the event whether on foot or on road. 

A consistent and transparent policy was required to ensure that the process was fully understood, that applicants and event organisers would know their roles and responsibilities and that the process involved was organised so as to ensure public safety.

As Essex County Council no longer administer this role, this Council needed to step in to enable the community to benefit from events that may involve a road closure and to ensure that applicants undertake such closures in a safe manner.