New Roads and Street Works Act 1991

Restrictions on further activities - sections 58 and 58A

Sections 58 and 58A of the Act give authorities the power to coordinate and restrict certain works to minimise disruption to residents and road users.

The restrictions apply to works in all or part of a street following substantial road works (section 58) or substantial street works (section 58A).

The period of restriction depends on the level of work being carried out. For example, substantial works could be restricted for six months; for long-term major highway reconstructions, the restriction could be up to five years.

Emergency works are exempt from restriction periods and customer utility connections may be carried out following a 20-day embargo period.

Once a restriction is in force, no other works (other than exempted activities or where an authority has given consent) can be carried out until the restriction period has expired. 

Notification of restrictions

The regulations require authorities to publish on their websites their intention to set up a restriction:

  • Three months before the start of substantial road works
  • Twenty days before the start of substantial street works

The following restrictions apply to the TfL Road Network only:

Proposed sections 58 and 58A restrictions

The following table provides details of TfL's proposed restrictions following the completion of the substantial road and street works.

Proposed Section 58 and 58A restrictions table

PDF 0.44MB

Current sections 58 and 58A restrictions

The following table provides details of restrictions that are now in force following the completion of substantial road and street works.

Subject to the exemptions in NRSWA and its associated regulations, no other street works may be carried out within the restriction period without TfL's consent.

Current section 58 and 58A restrictions table

PDF 0.20MB

Contact us

If you have a question about restrictions on road and street works, please email AssetOperationsS58waiver@tfl.gov.uk

Licence to undertake street works

Utility companies and other bodies have statutory powers to install and maintain apparatus such as utility services in the public highway and are granted permission under the London Permit Scheme.

Any other company or individual who wants to install and maintain apparatus such as a drainage connection to privately owned property will need to apply to us for a licence under Section 50 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. The following application form should be completed and returned to section50@tfl.gov.uk.

If you need to erect scaffolding, operate cranes or place skips or any other structure on any of the roads we look after, you will need to apply for a highway licence

Temporary traffic regulation order

If you are a utility company and a restriction is required to prohibit the movement of traffic in order to carry out street works, a temporary traffic regulation order must be obtained