Highways and access

You will always need approval from the Local Highways Authority if: 

• You are looking to create a new vehicular access or dropped kerb 
• You would like to lower a kerb to create a vehicular crossing over a pedestrian pathway. This includes extensions and changes to dropped kerbs.

This is separate from any planning permission that may also be needed. Suffolk County Council is the Local Highways Authority for Babergh and Mid Suffolk. Criteria and instructions on how to apply can be found on their website.

Works to Classified Roads

You may need planning permission in addition to highways consent if the highway involved is a Classified Road. This is a road that has been given a classification to stress its importance to the highway network.

In most cases, it involves the road name being prefixed with an A, B or C (for example the A12).

A and B roads are part of the national classification system. C roads, which are also classified roads, are marked as such by the Local Highways Authority.

Find out the classification of a road here.

Consulting the Highways Authority on a Planning Application

For any application where the highway is involved, the Highways Authority is a statutory consultee in the planning process. For applications affecting a major road network the LPA (Local Planning Authority) may consult National Highways.

Consultees can only make recommendations to the LPA. The final decision on whether a development is granted planning permission is made by the LPA.

If the Highways Authority considers that the development will adversely affect the highway - and this impact can’t be reduced - it can recommend refusal.

Note: The Highways Authority can’t make the final decision on whether a planning application is approved or refused. This is the LPA's role. However, the Highways Authority may not allow access to the public highway if it considers the proposal to be unsafe. This can be done regardless of any decision made by the LPA.

The views and decisions by the respective authorities on planning applications must be justified. In an appeal, they could be judged by the Planning Inspector to have acted unreasonably. Costs could then be awarded against the authority.

Useful links:

Suffolk County Council: Roads and transport
Suffolk County Council: Standard drawings for vehicular access
Suffolk Guidance for Parking
Manual For Streets
CrashMap