Section 184 Agreement

A developer will be required to enter into a Section 184 Agreement for the construction of, or alterations to, any site access or accesses where these are the only highway works required to be executed to enable the development or if they need to be constructed in advance of the main works under a Section 38 or 278 Agreement.

In some instances the scope of a Section 184 Agreement may be extended to cover additional minor works such as relaying a short length of kerbing either side of a new access, re-positioning a road gully, or for the provision of a street light to illuminate an access.

Section 38 clauses may be incorporated into a Section 184 Agreement where the developer is dedicating land as public highway in connection with the works such as providing visibility splays where it is desirable that these are contained wholly within the highway.

The Local Highway Authority will carry out technical approval of the developer’s design and inspection of the works for all Section 184 Agreements.

Appropriate fees will be payable to the Local Highway Authority for the administration of the agreement, legal services, technical approval, site inspections and issue of certificates. The developer is usually required to deposit a secured bond or cash with the Highway Authority of up to 150% of the value of the highway works.

The developer may also be required to pay a commuted sum to enable the Highway Authority to adequately maintain the works after completion, this can be for a period from 10 years up to 25 years.

A Section 184 Agreement is appropriate where a developer intends to construct or alter any site access or accesses to the public highway of a higher specification than a simple dropped footway or verge crossing - i.e. generally bell mouth junctions or heavy duty industrial types of access - and such works constitute the only works required within the highway to enable a development.

Section 184 - which falls within Part IX of the Highways Act 1980, Lawful and Unlawful Interference with Highways and Streets - does not provide for the formal entering into of agreements between a developer and Highway Authority. Therefore, an agreement under this section is formulated having regard to the following:-

Subsection 3 provides for the Authority to serve notice on the owner or occupier of land to be developed in accordance with a planning consent, stating that it proposes to execute works for the construction or alteration of any crossing over a kerbed footway or a verge as an access for mechanically propelled vehicles to or from the public highway to serve the development.

Subsection 7 provides for the Authority to recover from the owner or occupier all expenses it reasonably incurs in executing such works.

Subsection 9, however, provides for any person named in a notice to offer to execute the works themselves in accordance with plans approved by the Authority but, in the event of he or she failing to comply with their offer, then

Subsection 10 provides for the Authority to execute the works and recover all expenses it reasonably incurs in doing so.

The purpose of a Section 184 Agreement is, therefore, to rationalise the process in as much that, amongst other procedural matters, the Authority agrees not to serve notice and the Developer agrees to execute the works in accordance with his or her plans which the Authority approves. The Developer also makes a financial provision for the Authority to complete the works in the event of his or her failure to do so.