The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for ice from midnight to 10am on Wednesday 28 January.
If you see a highways emergency, please call 0345 606 6171.
Find out more about severe weather affecting Suffolk, including how to prepare.
We strongly encourage organisers to hold events off the public highway wherever possible. Please explore alternative locations carefully before applying to hold an event on the highway.
The public highway includes (but is not limited to):
If your event will not take place on the highway and will have no impact on it, you do not need to notify us. However, you may still need to contact your local borough or district council if you plan to provide entertainment or serve food or alcohol.
If there is no suitable off-highway location and your event will require a temporary traffic restriction, you must complete an event application form.
Applications must be submitted at least three months in advance
Events in Suffolk fall into one of the following three categories:
Civic events
Events organised by a registered charity
Other events, such as fairs or carnivals
Further details on how each event category is recognised and assessed by Suffolk County Council are outlined below.
A civic event is defined as an event attended by one or more of the following:
Suffolk County Council also recognises Acts of Remembrance (Remembrance Parades) as civic events where these are organised by a district or borough councils and attended the Royal British Legion.
For recognised civic events, Suffolk County Council will:
*Any contribution towards traffic management is capped and is only available where the event organiser chooses traffic management services provided by Suffolk Highways. The contribution will not apply if an alternative traffic management supplier is used. Please contact Network Assurance for further information.
A charity event is an event organised by a registered charity. A valid charity number will be required at the application stage.
If you are unsure of your charity number, you can search the charity register on GOV.UK.
For recognised charity events, Suffolk County Council will waive the administrative fees, including the Event Application Fee and Highway Restriction Fee.
However, the event organiser remains responsible for all other costs associated with holding the event safely on the highway, such as traffic management.
Please note: Events that raise money for charity but that are not organised directly by a registered charity will be classified as other events by Suffolk County Council.
Other events classed by Suffolk County Council include (but are not limited to):
The fee payable for an event depends on its impact on the highway.
Other events are assessed using the Event Impact Matrix (see table below), which is used to determine the Event Impact Score based on:
The Event Impact Score is calculated as follows:
Event Size Score + Number of Highway Restrictions Score + Duration of Highway Restriction Score = Event Impact Score
This score falls within a defined range, which determines:
Further information can be found in the section titled Paying the Fee.
The table below is used to calculate the Event Impact Score.
|
Event Size (Estimated Attendance) |
Score |
Number of Highway Restrictions |
Score |
Duration of Highway Restriction* |
Score |
|
Small (0-99) |
0 |
None |
0 |
0 to 5 hours |
0 |
|
Medium (100-499) |
1 |
One to three |
1 |
6 to 12 hours |
1 |
|
Large (500-4,999) |
2 |
Four to ten |
2 |
13 to 24 hours |
2 |
|
Major (5,000+) |
3 |
Eleven or more |
3 |
25+ hours |
3 |
* The duration of a highway restriction is calculated from the time the first road closes to the time the final road reopens. For example, if Road A closes at 9am and reopens at 12pm, and Road B closes at 10am and reopens at 1pm, the total duration would be 9am to 1pm (4 hours).
Highway Restrictions
Highway restrictions may include (but are not limited to):
The table below outlines the fees associated with processing highway event applications, based on the Event Impact Score.
|
Event Impact Score |
Event Application Fee |
Highway Restriction fee (if applicable) |
|
0-2 |
£0 |
£0 |
|
3-5 |
£150 |
£0 |
|
6-7 |
£300 |
£750 |
|
8 |
£450 |
£750 |
|
9 |
£600 |
£750 |
Worked Example
An event with:
would be assessed as follows:
Event Impact Score: 4
Fee Payable
Total Fee: £900
Important
The applicant is responsible for paying the applicable Event Application Fee and, where relevant, the Highway Restriction Fee.
The applicant is also responsible for any additional costs associated with holding the event safely on the highway (e.g. traffic management or traffic control).
Suffolk County Council may require confirmation of appropriate public liability insurance and relevant qualifications.
Suffolk County Council cannot recommend specific traffic management suppliers; however, there are many local suppliers operating within Suffolk and the surrounding areas.
Before submitting your application, please check whether your event may clash with other events or roadworks on the Suffolk Highway Network by visiting the roadworks in Suffolk webpage. If there is a conflict, you may need to reconsider your event date.
You will also need to:
Resources to Support Your Application
Once you have completed the application form, email it to: na.applications@suffolk.gov.uk
If your application is successful, a payment request email will be sent out to advise on the total fee payable and how payment can be made.
Only pay after you're asked to make the payment. You'll receive a reference number too.
Once your application is approved, we will complete your Event Order and send it to you via the email address provided.
Important:
To enforce a road closure, you will need accredited marshals to direct traffic around your event.
Paying Your Event Fees
If your application is successful, you will receive a payment request email detailing the total fee payable and instructions on how to make payment.
Card Payment: Make your payment online using the reference provided, please click on Pay online for an event below.
Other Payment Methods
BACS / Bank Transfer
Please note: We no longer accept cheques for event application payments.
You do not need to notify Suffolk County Council if your event does not affect the highway. However, you may still need to contact your local borough or district council if you plan to provide entertainment or serve food or alcohol.
Find out how to contact Customer Services quickly and securely using live chat.
You can also find options to help yourself online, and phone us if needed.
Alternatively, you can email your enquiry to customer.services@suffolk.gov.uk.