Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders - Review of Charging and Advertising
Argyll and Bute Council · 11 September 2025
Back to Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee — 11 September 2025 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES 11 SEPTEMBER 2025 TEMPORARY TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERS – REVIEW OF CHARGING AND ADVERTISING 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1 The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, at its meeting held on 19 June 2025 agreed: I. that officers carry out a review of the event application costs associated with Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) charges and advertising. II. that a report outlining the scope and methodology of that review, including engagement with event organisers, would be reported to the next Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee; and III. that the current Fees and Charges in relation to TTROs for events are suspended and the loss of income estimated to be up to £45,000 in 2025/26 is funded from the Priorities Investment Fund 1.2 This report provides Members with an update on the above decision including a background on the current TTRO charges and setting out two options as the basis for engagement with event organisers. 1.3 The report provides an initial “desktop” options appraisal for Members to consider and sets out a questionnaire for the engagement exercise. RECOMMENDATIONS 1.4 The Committee are asked to: - i. agree to the outline options as the basis for consultation with event organisers and community councils. ii. agree that the questionnaire attached in Appendix 2 is used to gather the organisers and community councils views on these options. iii. Agree that the consultation period is a minimum of six weeks. iv. Note that the results are expected to be reported to the Committee by March 2026; however, subject to analysis being completed sooner, may be reported to the Committee by December 2025. v. agree that the minimum timescales for application for TTROs or Temporary Restriction by Traffic Notice (TRTNs) are those listed in the end columns of Appendix 3.
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vi. agree that the list below are the newspapers which will be used to advertise the notice of TTROs. a. Argyllshire Advertiser b. Dunoon Observer c. Helensburgh Advertiser d. Oban Times e. Campbeltown Courier
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPMENT & INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES 11 SEPTEMBER 2025 TEMPORARY TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDERS – REVIEW OF CHARGING AND ADVERTISING 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 This report provides Members with a background on the current TTRO charges and sets out two options as the basis for engagement with event organisers. 2.2 The report provides an initial “desktop” options appraisal for Members to consider and sets out a questionnaire for the engagement exercise. 3.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 3.1 The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee are asked to: - i. agree to the outline options as the basis for consultation with event organisers and community councils. ii. agree that the questionnaire attached in Appendix 2 is used to gather the organisers and community councils views on these options. iii. Agree that the consultation period is a minimum of six weeks. iv. Note that the results are expected to be reported to the Committee by March 2026; however, subject to analysis being completed sooner, may be reported to the Committee by December 2025. v. agree that the minimum timescales for application for TTROs or Temporary Restriction by Traffic Notice (TRTNs) are those listed in the end columns of Appendix 3. vi. agree that the list below are the newspapers which will be used to advertise the notice of TTROs. a. Argyllshire Advertiser b. Dunoon Observer c. Helensburgh Advertiser d. Oban Times e. Campbeltown Courier
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4.0 DETAIL 4.1 The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee, at its meeting held on 19 June 2025 agreed: i. that officers carry out a review of the event application costs associated with TTRO charges and advertising. ii. that a report outlining the scope and methodology of that review, including engagement with event organisers, would be reported to the next Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee; and iii. that the current Fees and Charges in relation to TTROs for events are suspended and the loss of income estimated to be up to £45,000 in 2025/26 is funded from the Priorities Investment Fund. 4.2 The last point above has been introduced already and is in place for this financial year, the remainder of this report focusses on points (i) and (ii). The report aims to: • set out the current level of charges • the impact of events on staff resource • outline information pertinent to any further review of charges and • to offer initial options for consideration by the Committee. 4.3 Officers have carried out a “desktop” review of the current level of charges. This includes a benchmarking exercise, comparing our current level of charges to 12 other Local Authorities. It should be noted that from the information gathered from other local authorities there is no single approach to how TTRO charges are set and there is no ‘national guidance’ or regulations regarding this. 4.4 The team responsible for Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs), Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTROs) and Temporary Restriction by Traffic Notice (TRTNs) has only two members of staff. The senior officer is graded at LGE11 and the assistant is graded at LGE7. The gross cost to the Council (excluding departmental overheads), including Superannuation and National Insurance, for the team is £100,219 per annum. Excluding advertisement fees, the income from TTROs and TRTNs (averaged over the period 2022-2024) is £80,486. Advertisement fees are excluded from this calculation as the service charges these to applicants at net cost (i.e. they pay what we are charged by the newspapers). 4.5 The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (RTRA 1984) provides power to roads/traffic authorities to place temporary restrictions on the road under S14 and S16A. Broadly, these are implemented through either a TRTN or a TTRO. A TRTN is restricted to a maximum 5-day duration and are used for road works. A TTRO can be used to implement restrictions for either roadworks or an event (the first under s14, the second under s16A). 4.6 Whilst the RTRA 1984 provides the power to restrict or prohibit use of a road, roads authorities use these for several purposes. This includes assuring safe passage of traffic (including pedestrians) and ensuring road safety is maintained through effective and proportionate traffic management. The roads authority
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must be satisfied that any TTRO, for events, is provided to allow the event to proceed with sufficient measures in place to ensure the safety of those attending the events and those affected by the event. 4.6 Benchmarking Argyll and Bute Council to 12 other Local Authorities which had charging details readily available on their websites, we have averaged the charges and highlighted them in Table 1, below. Also included, in the bottom line, is an adjustment made for advertisements (3 of the 12 benchmarked LAs absorb the advertisement charges within their costs). The adjustment figure is £270, which is the average cost of advertisement within Argyll and Bute area in 2024 (note, adverts are only charged for TTROs). Finally, Argyll and Bute Council appear to be the only LA (certainly within the group compared against) which offers a discount for annual events in their 2nd year, and thereafter. Table 1 TTRO TTRO for Annual Events (2nd year and thereafter) Extension of TTRO TRTN Argyll and Bute Council £1,180 £591 £591 £591 Average charges comparator £1,429 - £858 £659 Average charges comparator with advertisement adjustment £1,367 - - - 4.7 There are some standouts, however, that should be highlighted. • Moray Council offer a unique set of charges to events. o Commercial events £252 o Community events £120 o Street parties / parades £27 o Remembrance Day Services are free o It’s not clear if advertisements are charges for separately or absorbed by the council. • Edinburgh City Council offer the highest charges across the comparison group o Small event £2,500 o Medium event £3,000 o Large event £4,000 o Complex event £6,000 o Advertisements are charged in a similar way to Glasgow City Council and ABC • Glasgow City o Events £3,009 o The above figure is not inclusive of adverts 4.8 Organisations requesting the waiving of charges for their event often cite that they are a Registered Charity. The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR, OSCR | Home) notes that all charities in Scotland must meet the “charity test”, including the fulfilment of defined “charitable purposes”. Appendix 1 contains detail on what these are but can also be found on the OSCR website.
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4.9 Appendix 1 highlights the breadth of activities which Registered Charities can carry out. Should a view be taken that fees should be waived for charities, very few or no events would be subject to any charge. In this case, to fully recover staff costs, s14 TRTNs & TTROs would need to be increased by 192.5%. Officers view is that this would place an unfair burden to Statutory Undertakers and others, and as such no option regarding this has been proposed. The other point to be aware of is that if events charges are reduced to nil or close to nil, it is likely the service would receive an upsurge in the number of events. While this might be beneficial to the economy and communities, it would be unachievable for the existing staff resource to deliver, as it has been resourced to meet current demand. 4.10 There has also been correspondence submitted to the Council over the use of community newspapers / newsletters rather than the traditional local newspapers. It remains the view of officers that the recognised local papers (listed below) continue to be used but note that, where appropriate, the community newspapers and newsletters may be used in addition to them dependent on the scale and impact of the proposed event. While community newpapers/letters may be more widely read within a community, the local newspapers cover a much wider geographical area. A good example of this is the Helensburgh Advertiser which covers Arrochar, Luss, Rosneath, Garelochhead as well as Helensburgh and its close environs. An event with closures held in Helensburgh could impact these outlying areas, as residents may shop or work within Helensburgh and need to be aware of any closures or restrictions which may affect their journey. • Local newspaper: o Argyllshire Advertiser o Dunoon Observer o Helensburgh Advertiser o Oban Times o Campbeltown Courier 4.11 The initial desktop review of charging proposes two options, as outlined below. It is proposed that these models form the basis of the further review with event organisers and community councils. The questionnaire, under Appendix 2, is used to garner views on the proposals. 4.12 Option 1 is to maintain the status quo but amending the fees & charges to clarify no events are exempt (including Oban Charities Day). 4.13 Option 2 seeks to rebalance costs and clarify timescales. The detail is contained within Appendix 3, but briefly, where proper notice is given by the applicants (4 weeks for TRTN, 6 weeks for a s14 TTRO and 12 weeks for a s16A TTRO), they pay the minimum cost, however; each weekly reduction in the application period for the event date results in a 25% increase in the charge. Note, there are minimum timescales which officers cannot reduce further without placing an unreasonable pressure on a very small staff resource (two officers) or risking a breach of the legislative requirements for advertisement, Notice and consultation. The 25% increase is on the baseline figure (not 25% on each subsequent
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increase) but is for illustrative purposes only, i.e. this figure is not set in stone but is open for discussion. The principal reason for the weekly increase is to encourage applicants to apply for restriction as early as possible to allow a limited staff resource to manage the workload effectively and to minimise the risk of refusal by the Council due to legislative restrictions. The charges are all exclusive of advertisement charges. 4.14 Subject to the approval of the Committee, it is intended to commence the consultation by the end of September 2025. The consultation is expected to last for a minimum of six weeks inline with advice from the Communications team. Following the consultation, a full analysis of submissions will be carried out and the results are expected to be reported back to the Committee by March 2026. If analysis is complete sooner, the results may be reported to the Committee at its meeting in December 2025. 4.15 Lastly, s16A (events) TTROs sometimes require consent from Scottish Ministers (with Transport Scotland acting on their behalf). This is set out in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 but is summarised in the list below but “iv” is the most common reason for application. Transport Scotland require a minimum of 4 weeks to consider the application. i. When the closure includes a request to restrict a trunk road or motorway, for which the Scottish Ministers are the traffic authority. ii. When the order will be in force for more than three days. iii. When an existing order is required to continue for longer than the anticipated period, Scottish Ministers may direct that an order can continue in force. iv. When the closure relates to the same length of road which has been subject to a previous section 16 order, within the same calendar year 5.0 CONCLUSION 5.1 The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee are requested to agree to the outline options as the basis for consultation with event organisers and community councils, note the consultation period & reporting timescales, and agree that the questionnaire attached in Appendix 2 is used to gather the organisers views of the same. 5.2 The Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee are requested to agree that while additional community based newspaper / newsletters may be used from time to time as additional media, the list below contains the newspapers used for advertisement for notices of TTROs. o Argyllshire Advertiser o Dunoon Observer o Helensburgh Advertiser o Oban Times o Campbeltown Courier
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6.0 IMPLICATIONS 6.1 Policy – No current policy for TTROs or TRTNs. There is a procedural document (“Traffic Regulation Orders Procedural Document”) which may require amendments to reflect changes over the last number of years (including legislative amendments). 6.2 Financial – The Service needs to ensure staff and third party costs are recovered as far as practicable. 6.3 Legal – None. 6.4 HR – None, provided any loss of income is covered by other funding, however if this is not covered then staff costs will not be met for the relevant post(s) 6.5 Customer service – Fees & Charges, events guidance and websites will need to be amended following the conclusion of the review. 6.6 Risk – Potential financial damage to the Council through loss of income, should costs not be recovered. Reputational damage is also possible from both event organiser and statutory undertakers should they consider they are being treated unfairly or carrying disproportionate charges. 6.7 Climate change – n/a. 6.8 Fairer Scotland Duty – None known. 6.9 Equalities: protected characteristics – None known. 6.10 Consumer duty – None. 6.11 Island communities – None. 6.12 Children’s Rights and Wellbeing – None known. Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services: Kirsty Flanagan Policy Lead for Roads, Transport and Amenity Services: Councillor John Armour July 2025 For further information contact: Stuart Watson, Assistant Network & Standards Manager stuart.watson@argyll-bute.gov.uk Hugh O’Neill – Network & Standard Manager
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hugh.oneill@argyll-bute.gov.uk APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Charity Test and Purposes Appendix 2 – Questionnaire Appendix 3 – Option 2, Fees & Charges
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Appendix 1 – Charity Test and Purposes Charity Test: • Have only charitable purposes • Provide public benefit • Use their funds and property only for charitable purposes • Allow fair access to the benefit they provide • Not be, or exist to advance, a political party. Charitable Purposes: a. The prevention or relief of poverty b. The advancement of education c. The advancement of religion d. The advancement of health e. The saving of lives f. The advancement of citizenship or community development g. The advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science h. The advancement of public participation in sport i. The provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended j. The advancement of human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation k. The promotion of religious or racial harmony l. The promotion of equality and diversity m. The advancement of environmental protection or improvement n. The relief of those in need by reason of age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage o. The advancement of animal welfare p. Any other purpose that may reasonably be regarded as analogous to any of the preceding purposes
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Appendix 2 - Questionnaire Argyll & Bute Council Roads & Infrastructure Services Review of Fees & Charges for Events The Environment, Development & Infrastructure Committee, at its meeting held on 11 September 2025 agreed to review the fees & charges structure for events (charges for Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs)) This questionnaire seeks to gather views on the options outlined below and your response is vital to allow a thorough and robust exercise to be completed. Note – the charges outlined below are based on the published Network Management Fees and Charges for 2025/26 (Network management and public transport fees and charges | Argyll and Bute Council) Option 1 Maintain the current suite of charges (refer to Annex 1) with clarification that no events are exempted, and media advertisement fees are in addition to the Councils Fees & Charges. Option 2 Introduces a tiered structure for charges, separating out events with or without commercial elements. This option highlights preferred and minimal timelines and introduces an increase per week for less notice to encourage early engagement. This allows the workstream to be better managed within a limited staff resource. The increase per week has been set at 25% (on baseline not subsequent weeks) but is an indicative figure at this point. Full detail is laid out in Annex 2. Organisation responding: Address: Name of representative: Telephone Number: Email: Q1 How many events does your organisation hold per year in the Argyll and Bute area? Q2 How many of these events are held on the road or otherwise require a TTRO? Q3 Do you agree that Option 1 is the best way to manage TTROs for events? Yes / No If no, please set out your reasons for this:
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Q4 Do you agree that, under Option 1, all events should be charged? Yes / No If no, please set out your reasons for this: Q5 Do you agree that Option 2 is best to manage TTROs for events? Yes / No If no, please set out your reasons for this: Q6 Do you agree that increasing charges per less week of notice to the Council is fair, bearing in mind the limited staff resource in the team that manages TTROs? Yes / No If no, please set out your reasons for this: Q7 Do you agree that events which are commercial or partly commercial should pay more than events that are solely community benefit? Yes / No If no, please set out your reasons for this: Q8 Is there anything else you would like to add? Q9 Are there any events you would expect to be exempt from requiring a TTRO? Q9a Can you provide your reasoning for the above?
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Annex 1 – Option 1, current Fees & Charges Description Net VAT Rate VAT Gross £ Notes/Comments £ £ £ Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders - Provision of Temporary TRO 1,180.00 Outwith the Scope 0 1,180.00 67 Plus cost of advert plus cost of traffic management Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders - Provision of Temporary TRO for Annual Events (2nd year and thereafter) 591 Outwith the Scope 0 591 33 1 - Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTRO) costs should be met in full by the organiser promoting the event. Fees include minimal administration costs from the Council and advertising costs from local newspapers. Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders - Provision of Extension of Temporary TRO 591 Outwith the Scope 0 591 33 Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders - Provision of Emergency Notice TRO 591 Outwith the Scope 0 591 33 2 - Cost of adverts will vary depending on the publication in which they are placed. In some circumstances, events may require to be advertised in multiple publications, where this is the case the applicant will be required to meet these costs.
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Annex 2 – Option 2 Restrictions required for Emergencies (RTRA, s14) 3-weeks advance notice 2-weeks advance notice 1-weeks advance notice Temporary Restriction by Emergency Notice (21 day max. duration, can be extended once only) £591 £739 £887 Extend Temporary Restriction by Emergency Notice (21 day max. duration) £591 £739 £887 Extend Temporary Restriction by Emergency Notice by TTRO (advertising costs not included) as Temporary Traffic Regulation Order charges below Restrictions required for Planned Works (RTRA, s14) 10- weeks advance notice 9-weeks advance notice 8-weeks advance notice 7-weeks advance notice 6-weeks advance notice 5-weeks advance notice 4-weeks advance notice Temporary Restriction by Traffic Notice (5-day day max. duration) - - - - £591 £739 £887 Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (advertising costs not included) £1,180 £1,475 £1,770 £2,065 £2,655 n/a n/a Extend Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (advertising costs not included) £591 £739 £887 £1,034 £1,182 - - Restrictions requested for Events (RTRA, s16A) 16- weeks advance notice 15- weeks advance notice 14- weeks advance notice 13- weeks advance notice 12- weeks advance notice Commercial or partly commercial purposes (advertising costs not included), first year £1,400 £1,750 £2,100 £2,450 £2,800 Commercial or partly commercial purposes (advertising costs not included), second year and thereafter £700 £875 £1,050 £1,225 £1,400 Community benefit events but with no commercial elements (advertising costs not included), first year £800 £1,000 £1,200 £1,400 £1,600 Community benefit events but with no commercial elements (advertising costs not included), second year and thereafter £400 £500 £600 £700 £800
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Appendix 3 – Option 2, Fees & Charges Restrictions required for Emergencies (RTRA, s14) 3-weeks advance notice 2-weeks advance notice 1-weeks advance notice Temporary Restriction by Emergency Notice (21 day max. duration, can be extended once only) £591 £739 £887 Extend Temporary Restriction by Emergency Notice (21 day max. duration) £591 £739 £887 Extend Temporary Restriction by Emergency Notice by TTRO (advertising costs not included) as Temporary Traffic Regulation Order charges below Restrictions required for Planned Works (RTRA, s14) 10- weeks advance notice 9-weeks advance notice 8-weeks advance notice 7-weeks advance notice 6-weeks advance notice 5-weeks advance notice 4-weeks advance notice Temporary Restriction by Traffic Notice (5-day day max. duration) - - - - £591 £739 £887 Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (advertising costs not included) £1,180 £1,475 £1,770 £2,065 £2,655 n/a n/a Extend Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (advertising costs not included) £591 £739 £887 £1,034 £1,182 - - Restrictions requested for Events (RTRA, s16A) 16- weeks advance notice 15- weeks advance notice 14- weeks advance notice 13- weeks advance notice 12- weeks advance notice Commercial or partly commercial purposes (advertising costs not included), first year £1,400 £1,750 £2,100 £2,450 £2,800 Commercial or partly commercial purposes (advertising costs not included), second year and thereafter £700 £875 £1,050 £1,225 £1,400 Community benefit events but with no commercial elements (advertising costs not included), first year £800 £1,000 £1,200 £1,400 £1,600 Community benefit events but with no commercial elements (advertising costs not included), second year and thereafter £400 £500 £600 £700 £800