Apply for a community highways scheme

1 Overview

We encourage communities to identify any highway concerns they may have. Each year we deliver a small programme of community-driven schemes through the Annual Delivery Programme. 

Examples of schemes we have delivered include:

• traffic calming features
• town/village centre enhancements
• cycling facilities
• crossing facilities (non-signalised)
• speed limits/zones
• small scale junction improvements.

2 Before you make a request

Before you apply for a community highways scheme, ensure you have the support of the wider community. This helps us assess whether this would be a widely supported scheme with benefits for the whole community.

All applications must be supported by your local county councillor for them to be considered and discussions should take place with them before submitting your application.

Consideration should also be given to the implications your proposals may have on other local communities. The more details that can be included in your request the easier it will be to assess.

All requests will be assessed and prioritised. Only those requests that are technically viable and align with the West Sussex Transport Plan Objectives will be considered for inclusion in a future Annual Delivery Programme. We typically deliver between 10 and 20 schemes per year, so competition is high and only the very best schemes are taken forward.

When community highway schemes are assessed, we consider:

• alignment with the West Sussex Transport Plan objectives:
• Prosperous West Sussex
• Healthy West Sussex
• Protected West Sussex
• Connected West Sussex
• deliverability of the scheme:
• compliance with technical standards, policy requirements and legal requirements
• value for money, including ongoing maintenance costs
• evidenced support for your scheme, for example, from your County Councillor, your local council, local businesses and your local community.

Developing and designing a highways scheme is a lengthy and costly process. Your request will have a better chance of being progressed if it significantly contributes to the above.

You can submit your application at any time. However, for your scheme to be considered for inclusion in our 2025/26 design programme, we need to receive your application by 31 July 2024. Applications received after this date will be considered the following year.

We would encourage you to contact us to discuss your scheme early on so we can provide support and advice to give your scheme the best chance of success.

3 Make an application

Complete the online form to request a new scheme.

4 What happens next

All applications will be assessed and you will be informed of the result. The assessments are reviewed by a panel to ensure that scoring is applied consistently to all applications.

If a proposal scores well enough against other competing schemes it will be scheduled and progressed accordingly. Depending on the size, complexities and resources involved in the delivery of the project, this can take up to three years to implement. This allows for detailed designs to be drawn up, consultations to take place (where required) and contractors hired.

• The scheme will initially be assessed for feasibility and will be measured against a set of criteria by a local highways team. If the scheme is deemed not feasible at this stage, we will inform the applicant and there will be no further progression.

• Schemes that are feasible will be put through a detailed assessment and compared against a framework that generates a ‘score’ for the scheme. These scores are then used to determine the relative priority of your schemes against all other applications. Detailed assessments are reviewed and moderated by a technical panel towards the end of the calendar year and the highest priority schemes will be recommended for design in the following year’s Annual Delivery Programme (ADP). The number of schemes progressed each year will be dependent on the availability of funding and resources, but typically we deliver 10 to 20 schemes so most schemes will not progress beyond this stage.

• Applicants will be informed of the results of the panel at the end of the year.

• Following approval of the budget in March/April, the schemes included for design in the ADP will be progressed.

• Subject to the successful completion of the design phase, the scheme will then be considered, subject to budget, for construction in the following year’s ADP. It should be noted that the delivery of some schemes may take longer due to issues such as availability of road space or complexity of the scheme. In some instances, schemes will not progress past the design stage if a suitable design cannot be developed.