Apply for a temporary road, path or public right of way closure for an event

If you are planning an event that affects a road, pathway or public right of way, you need to apply for a closure.

Types of event covered

Any event that needs a road to be closed is covered:

events held in a single community eg carnivals, fairs, processions, markets and street parties, fall under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847
sporting events, events covering several communities, events on public rights of way, events needing mandatory traffic controls (eg no left/right turns), eg fun runs, cycle events and car rallies, fall under the Road Traffic Regulation (Special Events) Act 1984/94
street parties: please read our Strategic Highways Street Party Policy (PDF, 215 KB) for information and guidance on how to organise your event - to apply for a licence to install bunting over a public road, you should fill in Apply to add bunting over a road or pavement.

Register your event

You must register your event through our events safety process.

Apply for a closure

Once you have registered your event, you can apply for a closure.

Apply for a temporary road, path or public right of way closure: applications should be made at least three months in advance of the event. There is a fixed fee per closure of £336 which may be waived for registered charities, not for profit organisations or remembrance day and official celebration events.

The form helps us and the police decide whether we can support your event. We will send you an invoice if you need to pay the fee.

What you need to consider

access for emergency vehicles must be maintained at all times
events on public transport routes should consider what effect it will have on bus timetables, together with what routes the buses would take during the closure
the effect the event may have on nearby houses and businesses

What you need to tell us

You may need to use an approved traffic management company to help you. You will need to provide the following information:

a traffic management plan identifying the section of road, path or right of way that has been closed. This needs to include full details of any proposed diversion route and signage in compliance with Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual.
why the closure has happened
the start date of the closure
how long the closure will last
whether the closure will be during working hours only or 24 hours a day
whether the work will be carried out through the night
any exemptions permitted to the closure such as access for pedestrians, cyclists, emergency services
24 hour contact details of the person or organisation responsible for the work and your customer services contact (if appropriate)
confirmation that all staff installing temporary traffic management are LANTRA qualified