A pre-application meeting is the cheapest point to find out what highways will object to. These are the five things officers look at first.
1. A safe access with the right visibility
Visibility splays based on the speed traffic actually travels, and an access width that suits the vehicles that will use it. This is the most common sticking point on smaller sites.
2. Walking routes that work
Continuous footways to the places people will walk to: shops, schools and bus stops. The 2026 Framework asks schemes to give priority first to walking, wheeling and cycling, so officers will look for this early.
3. Parking that fits local standards
Car and cycle parking checked against the council’s standards, with spaces people will actually use. Too little pushes cars onto the street. Too much can count against a scheme in a well-connected location.
4. Servicing and emergency access
Bin lorries, delivery vans and fire engines need to get in, turn and get out. Swept path drawings show it works.
5. Proportionate evidence on traffic
Officers want the scheme’s trips set out clearly, with junction testing only where it is genuinely needed. Agreeing that scope early saves time on both sides.
Making the meeting count
- Send a site plan and a short note a week before
- Ask for written feedback, and agree the scope of any report
- Bring the person who will write the transport evidence
General information, not advice on a specific site. Policy and guidance correct as of October 2026.