Managing UK Highways Act section 278 projects – a collaborative approach

Liverpool City Council has developed a collaborative approach to managing section 278 agreements under the UK Highways Act 1980 through its highways development control service. This paper examines how highways development control has changed in recent years in Liverpool, and some of the different approaches to managing section 278 agreements used by local authorities. It provides details of a new system currently being utilised in Liverpool, which employs an open book approach. This system has been proven to bring clarity to all those involved in the section 278 process; the developer, the highway authority, and the technical service provider (increasingly common as authorities outsource technical service provision). It also suggests how some local authorities might improve this area of service provision, through collaborative working. The city council formed the 2020Liverpool Ltd joint venture with Mouchel in 2003 for the provision of technical and professional services across the authority, and the paper is written jointly from the perspectives of the highway authority and the technical service provider.