TRO Appendix 4 - future digitisation
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 4 Future TRO works and Digital Enhancements Following a 4-year review of regulations for automated vehicles carried out jointly by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission, the Department for Transport (DfT) has imposed a mandatory duty on English Highway authorities to move to Digital TROs (D-TROs). No end date for this duty has been set yet, but this is expected to be amended shortly as explained in paragraph Currently, this doesn’t apply in Scotland, but it is expected to come forward at some point in the future. With the current volume of TROs in Argyll and Bute, it will be difficult to move towards this with any real pace. This isn’t simply down to the volume of TROs (600+) but that they are disjointed, and many have repeated amendment orders. In its current form, it would be a substantial challenge to complete this task. Notwithstanding this, the DfT have noted that traffic authorities have reported the following benefits from D-TROs: i. Easier consultation, using digital maps and online forms. ii. Quicker processes for TRO approvals e.g., of electric vehicle parking. iii. Cost savings from quicker TRO design and approval, less time on checking. iv. Fewer penalty charge notice appeals rejected through a lack of an available TRO document or inconsistency with signing. v. Ability to design and change and publish TROs quickly in line with policy needs. vi. Sharing TROs to plan street works and check for legality and shared closures. Reproducing TROs in a graphical format provides substantial benefits in accessibility for officers, Elected Members and members of the public. TROs are written in legalistic language (as they are legal orders) but this is not a format most people are familiar or comfortable with. Displaying them in a map-based graphic makes them easier to understand for most people. It is a long-term aspiration to have TROs embedded as a layer on the council’s GIS mapping system which will be available to the public via the Council’s website. Other benefits attached to mapping TROs are: i. Useful for public engagement (pre-statutory) – using a projector to allow officers to zoom in/out of areas to assist with discourse and provide clarity. ii. As a map layer in the Roads & Transport Portal - this will allow local officers to have quick and easy access when reviewing restrictions or planning road marking works without having to refer to the weighty textual documents. iii. Sharing with the public – share mapping on the website to allow the public, elected members and community councils to view what is in place. This may also be of use to visitors to the area or others unfamiliar with our towns and villages. Those receiving a PCN may also find it of use when considering an appeal.
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iv. AI Vehicles – should the day ever come, AI driven vehicles will require this data to be available in graphic format so that AI will know what is or isn’t permitted on a route. This information will aid an AI where markings or signs are faded or missing. The proposed additional resource, detailed in paragraph 4.11of the TRO Report, seeks to take the mapping of TROs from an aspirational level to a deliverable action.