TRO Appendix 3_TRO process
Argyll and Bute Council · 18 December 2025
Back to Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee — 18 December 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Appendix 3 - TRO Process Summary 1. Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) are made under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedures) (Scotland) Regulations 1999. 2. There are three main stages to a TRO; “Consultation 1”, “Consultation 2” and Consultation 3”. In cases where the TRO is simple (for example, off-street car parking) then Consultation 1 & 2 are often combined. 3. Consultation 1 runs for a minimum of 14 days to allow consultation to take place and may take longer than this if significant comments are submitted. The consultees for Consultation 1 are: a. Police Scotland b. Scottish Fire & Rescue c. Scottish Ambulance Service d. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport e. Local Multi Ward Elected Members f. Chair of Area Committee for information g. Public Transport Officer h. Strategic Transport and Infrastructure Manager i. Development Policy and Housing Strategy Manager. 4. Consultation 2 runs for a minimum for 21 days to allow consultation to take place and may take longer than this if significant comments are submitted. Consultation 2 will take in other statutory consultees along with any others that it may considered appropriate: a. Taxi groups b. Freight Transport Association c. Public Utilities d. Community Council(s) e. The Road Haulage Association Ltd f. Royal Mail g. Scottish Forestry h. Local groups (e.g. Harbour Associations, Trusts, Friends of “”) 5. Comments submitted at Consultation 1 and 2 are considered by officers and changes may be made to the original plan if considered necessary or appropriate. The TRO is then drafted and published for Consultation 3, this is the public consultation stage. The draft TRO will be advertised in the appropriate local newspaper. In addition to this, the TRO may also be made available via the following ways: a. The Head of Legal and Regulatory Support will make the TRO available at Kilmory for public inspection as required b. The local Technical Officer (Traffic & Development) will arrange for their display (typically by notice) in the area affected c. On the Councils website, under the traffic order page d. the Customer Service Point for the area may make the TRO available for public inspection, as required e. A copy of the TRO may be provided to the local library and/or other suitable public building in the vicinity, if required and available, for public inspection. 6. The Public Notification stage runs for 21 days and any person, group or organisation may submit objections to the TRO at this point.
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7. If objections are submitted then these need to be dealt with in line with the legislation. At this stage there will be further correspondence / discussions between the appropriate officer and the objectors in order to try to resolve the objections. i. If an objector is satisfied then they must formally withdraw their objection in order for it to be discarded. If all objections are withdrawn then the TRO can be made. ii. If a single objector maintains their objection then there are four options available: a. If the objection can be resolved with an amendment to the TRO then this can be considered by the Area Committee. If the Area Committee agree to the amendment then TRO can be made. b. If no amendment is possible or desirable and the objection is one that can be decided upon by a local authority, then the Area Committee can agree to overrule the objection(s) and agree to make the TRO. c. If the objection is out-with a local authorities power to decide upon then it may be referred to an independent reporter for consideration. There are specific types of restrictions within the legislation that are not delegated for local decision where objections are maintained, for example, a restriction in vehicle classes that may use a road. Note that the independent reporters decision is then referred back to the Area Committee for consideration and action. d. The Area Committee can agree to stop the process, i.e. “abandon” the proposed TRO. 8. Once a TRO has been agreed to be made by the Area Committee then the TRO is passed to the Head of Legal and Regulatory Support for signing. The TRO is then re- advertised where further objections may be submitted on procedural grounds (i.e. valid objections would have to demonstrate the legislation had not been complied with or properly followed). Where no objections are submitted during this stage then the TRO is made and comes into effect 6 weeks after signing. 9. A straightforward TRO will normally take a minimum of 28 weeks to process, even where there are no comments or objections raised at any stage. 10. All permanent TROs must be made within 2 years of the date of the first Public Notice or the proposal will fail by default, unless an application for an extension has been made by the authority to the Scottish Ministers and granted. If the TRO still requires to be made and no extension is granted, the process must start again.