Temporary Road Closures

If you are planning to hold a parade, demonstration, sporting, social or entertainment event or a street party you may require the temporary closure of a road.

Applying for a Temporary Road Closure 

Mole Valley District Council (MVDC), in consultation with relevant agencies such as Surrey Police and Surrey County Council (SCC) has the power to temporarily close a road for public events, such as street parties, or processions held on a road. 

Applying for a road closure to hold a street party is a simple application process as long as no main routes or bus services are disrupted. Please refer to the 'Planning a Street Party' for more information.

You may also wish to close the road for the following:

• seasonal events such as bonfire and Christmas celebrations
• shopping events and markets
• Commemorative and remembrance events

Making an Application

For all requests, you will need to submit a completed application form together with your event management plan, traffic management plan and risk assessment no less than eight weeks in advance of your event. The eight week minimum period is to carry out consultation, receive proof of public liability insurance, consider and negotiate the event in the light of comments, and to allow time for the application to be taken to the Safety Advisory Group (SAG) if necessary.

Apply for a Temporary Road Closure ›

Next Steps

MVDC will check that the applicant has supplied all the necessary documentation and carried out duties as outlined in the 'Conditions of a Road Closure' (See 'Downloads').

Providing there are no significant objections, a copy of the Closure Certificate will be sent to the applicant. The applicant will need to make laminated copies of the certificate and display them in the street no less than one week before the date of the road closure.

The applicant will need to obtain 'road closed' signs and perhaps other signage depending on the scale and length of the closure. These can be downloaded free of charge from the Streets Alive website.

Costs

MVDC does not charge for the work undertaken to achieve a road closure and therefore expects all applicants to understand that they meet the costs of any responsibilities they must undertake to comply with the 'Conditions of a Road Closure'.

Sporting Events

If a road closure is required for a larger event such as a sporting event then you will need to make an application to SCC by emailing events@surreycc.gov.uk

Closing a Main Road

Some roads are more straightforward to close than others and this needs to be taken into consideration when planning an event. If you are planning to close a main road such as Dorking High Street then you are advised to contact the Partnerships and Communities team six months prior to your event so that we can advise you on what you will be required to do.

To ensure that your event happens in a safe and well managed way you will need to consider the following points in advance of making an application to close any 'A' or main road:

• closing a main road such as a High Street is not something the Council does routinely but has the power under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 to close for special occasions relating to public 'thronging and rejoicing'. MVDC can not close any road for sporting events. For these types of event contact SCC
• before you set out applying for a road closure you should first consider the costs that are involved. These will be for things such as signage, first aid provision, public liability cover and equipment associated with stewarding such as hi-vis jackets. There is no charge for the closure process itself but the related costs could be in the region of between £1000 and £2000
• you will then need to appoint a designated 'Event Organiser' and Event Manager. The Event Organiser would be the organisation or individual (where no organisation is involved) and the Event Manager would be a nominated appropriate individual responsible for delivering the event/road closure. The Event Manager would liaise with the Council and other stakeholders throughout the process. We strongly advise that you start your planning early, approximately six months prior to the road closure/event depending on the resources available to your organisation
• the Council has developed a pack to help applicants understand the resource and logistical implications of organising a successful event and road closure on a High St/main road, this can be requested by emailing partnerships@molevalley.gov.uk
• once these steps have been undertaken you should complete the road closure application form and event notification form
• once all the forms have been completed and returned you should start the planning process using the guidance pack and templates we sent you. We require you to send us all the completed template documents and supporting annexes eight weeks before the planned closure so that the Council can begin the process of consultation with the SAG
• in terms of logistics for closing Dorking High Street as an example, you will require at least 40 stewards, 30 - 40 advanced notification signs, there are over 300 businesses to write to and consult together with numerous residential properties and both bus and taxi companies to inform/negotiate with, you will need to consider deployment and installation of signage, diversion and road closed signs, first aid provision, £5m of liability insurance cover and communications equipment such as hand held radios. Some of the signage can be borrowed from the Council but this is not guaranteed and is dependent on availability. *This list is not exhaustive
• Risk management and liability for the event is entirely the responsibility of the 'Event Organiser'. If the Council and SAG feel that the risks have not been adequately managed and controlled then the road closure will not be authorised and a Letter of Objection to the event will be issued by the SAG
• subject to SAG approval of all the requisite documentation and following consultation and broad agreement, the SAG will issue a 'Letter of No Objection' and a Road Closure Certificate will be issued to the applicant by the Council for display in and around the event area