Surrey Lane Rental Scheme

Overview

Making the best use of our road network is vital for Surrey. Our roads facilitate the transport of people and goods, provide access to homes, businesses and other destinations, and provide public space where people shop, socialise or relax. Under the road surface lies essential infrastructure for the communications and services that underpin our lives.

Surrey County Council has a legal duty to manage, maintain and improve the road network, including managing its use and the activities, including works, taking place on it.

The Council has a range of powers and duties under which they maintain and improve the network, as well as managing its use and the activities taking place on it. In 2013 the Council introduced a permit scheme, which was a progressive increase in the ability of the Council to manage and coordinate works to minimise disruption.

A lane rental scheme will complement this permit scheme by providing greater financial incentive to encourage organisations to improve their planning, work outside of peak times and reduce the duration of their work.

Why your views matter

In accordance with Government Guidance any local highway authority making an application to the Secretary of State to run a lane rental scheme will need to have carried out a full consultation on the draft scheme.

The purpose of the consultation is to seek views and clarifications from those potentially affected by the introduction of a lane rental scheme and other interested parties.

It should be noted that a lane rental scheme has to be compliant to legislation and many associated references, such as statutory guidance. As such, the Council is limited in changes that can be applied to the scope and content of the scheme.

A response can be submitted on any section of the scheme or the overall scope or objectives of the scheme. Where appropriate, reference to a specific section in the scheme would be beneficial. This will provide context for the response and to enable the Council to provide the necessary consideration and a response (where applicable).

At the bottom on the page are the consultation documents, which we suggest that you read prior to undertaking the survey to undersand what we are proposing.  Documentation provided includes; 

• the Surrey Lane Rental Scheme;
• the Schedule which contains details of the streets subject to lane rental, which are also shown within maps of the county;
• a Consultation Overview that provides more detail on the background of the lane rental scheme, together with a cost-benefit analysis; and
• a Lane Rental Evaluation Plan contains detail of how the Council intends to measure the lane rental scheme once it come into effect.

What happens next

Responses to the consultation will be considered by the Council, to determine whether any changes are required to the lane rental scheme, or whether further clarification of the scope or operation of the scheme is required.

Once this is complete, the Council intend to apply to the Secretary of State for Transport to bring a lane rental scheme into legal effect.

The Council expect a scheme to commence by April 2021 and will contact all consultees post-consultation once these timescales can be confirmed.