Working in the Road Corridor

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Overview

A permit is required to perform any works in a Council managed road reserve (the public land outside the private property boundary).

These works may include:

  • Construction or maintenance of a turnout or driveway
  • Connecting stormwater drainage to the Council-owned drainage system

If you are planning to do any works in the road reserve, you will need to apply for a Road Corridor permit.

Road Corridor Permit Application form(PDF, 106KB)

When is a permit required?

Council consent (in the form of a Road Corridor permit) is required to conduct work within a road reserve where Council is the responsible authority.

This includes:

  • constructing, altering or removing a driveway or turnout
  • service connections
  • drainage, stormwater, gas or water connections
  • excavations, trenching, core sampling or soil testing     

Driveways or Turnouts

To construct or maintain a driveway or turnout you will need to apply for a Road Corridor permit

Property owners are responsible for the ongoing maintenance of your existing driveways and turnout.  

In some cases a driveway or turnout incorporates a culvert to allow the uninterrupted passage of stormwater. This forms part of the driveway or turnout.

Where a culvert is included in a driveway or turnout, it is your responsibility to maintain all in a safe and serviceable condition. This includes keeping the culvert clear of any debris.

Gravel driveways

Unsealed driveways may pose a hazard if the topping material washes onto the road or footpath during rain.

Residents must keep the footpath and roadway in a clean and safe condition if driveway material is washed onto these surfaces.

 

Site Plans

When you apply for a Road Corridor permit, you will need to include a scaled location map showing:

  • proposed works 
  • the location of assets in the vicinity (trees, landscaping, kerb and channel, footpaths, drains, service authority assets and private assets)
  • which road and which part(s) of the road reserve is/are impacted
  • proposed depth of cover, clearances and offsets to other road and non-road infrastructure 

Dial Before You Dig

You will need to undertake a “dial before you dig” enquiry before applying for a Road Corridor permit.

A copy of all asset plans (Dial Before You Dig plans and information that you have collected) will need to be included with your application. Include all below-ground and above-ground asset plans that you have obtained from Dial Before You Dig.

Standard Drawings

Any works in the road reserve must be constructed in accordance with Council's standard drawings, which you can view on the Standard Drawings Page.

Standard drawings provide detail for infrastructure assets, such as roads, footpaths, kerb and channel, drains and pits.

They are to be followed when any work is carried out on or around our assets by any developers, contractors and consultants, private or otherwise.

All drawings should be used as a guide. Council must approve all plans before construction can begin.

Legal Point of Discharge

Property owners are responsible for the maintenance of household drains up to the point where they connect into the Council-managed underground or table drain. This point is known as the legal point of discharge.

Stormwater drainage from private properties must link into the Council-managed drainage system at the nominated legal point of discharge.

Easements

A drainage easement is an area of land reserved by law and shown on Title of the property, that has the specific purpose of drainage.

An implied easement is land not shown in an easement on Title that contains a Council stormwater drain.

If you intend to build any sort of structure over a draining easement, you must check if you need to apply for consent to build over the easement.

Insurance

Public liability insurance generally provides financial protection to both the public and the responsible persons conducting works in the event of an incident resulting in damages or injury to third party assets or persons. The minimum policy coverage for persons/companies conducting works within the road reserve of $10 million is required. Applicants are advised that proof of cover in the form of a certificate of currency is necessary before the Road Corridor permit application can be completed.