Start with the organisation carrying out the works. Its name and contact details should be on the site information board or the local roadworks map. Ask that organisation about driveway, loading, customer, pedestrian and emergency access for the exact phase affecting your property. Contact the highway authority or council when the promoter is unclear, when you need an authority-level compliance response, or when the road is unsafe. For an immediate threat to life, use the emergency number.
Choose the contact route by the problem
Roadworks involve two different parties, and confusing them is the main reason access questions get passed around. The works organisation (also called the promoter, undertaker, utility or contractor) controls the practical arrangements at the site. The highway authority manages or oversees the road and deals with authority-level duties. Use this decision table before making a call.
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| Your issue | First contact | What that contact can answer or do |
|---|---|---|
| When a driveway, entrance, loading bay or footway will be restricted | The organisation carrying out the works | Explain phases, dates, working hours, temporary crossings, alternative parking and site contacts for the affected property. |
| The contractor or utility is not identified | The council or highway authority responsible for that road | Identify the promoter from its works records and direct the enquiry to the correct organisation. |
| Missing signs, poor reinstatement, abandoned equipment, repeated failure to follow a permit or an unresolved authority-duty concern | The highway authority or council | Investigate work on its network or pursue compliance with conditions and reinstatement requirements. |
| An immediate hazard, dangerous obstruction or blocked route | The local hazard or obstruction-reporting route | Send a prompt safety report to the body that can arrange an urgent response. Use the emergency number if life is at risk. |
That division is practical rather than a promise that every authority or contractor must provide a particular parking space, crossing or access time. Arrangements depend on the operation, the road, the permit and local practice.
Find the organisation doing the work
Read the site board or notice
Look for the information board at the excavation, closure, traffic lights or compound. Record the promoter or contractor name, telephone number, online reporting method and any works or permit reference. Photograph the board if it may be removed or updated. A reference number helps the organisation locate the correct phase instead of giving a generic answer.
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Check the roadworks map
The relevant council or highway authority normally publishes a roadworks map or works register. Search the road name, postcode or map location, then match the listed promoter and dates to the signs on site. Maps can lag behind a change in programme, so treat them as an identification tool and confirm current access arrangements with the works organisation.
Ask the highway authority when the identity is unclear
If there is no board, the details are unreadable, or the map lists only a permit number, contact the authority responsible for that road. Ask it to identify the promoter and provide the correct contact route. Confirm road ownership before assuming the council is responsible: Kingston, for example, distinguishes council-maintained local roads from certain major roads managed by Transport for London.
Questions to put to the works organisation
Give the promoter the property address, the nearest junction, the work reference and the date by which access matters. Ask precise questions rather than “Will the road be open?”
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- Vehicle access: On which dates and during which hours will a driveway, garage, loading area or customer entrance be unavailable? Is the restriction continuous or limited to particular operations?
- Work phases: Which phase affects this property, when does it start, how long is it expected to last, and what event would change the programme?
- Deliveries and customers: Where should deliveries, carers, taxis, contractors or customers stop when the normal entrance is closed? Is there a signed alternative entrance?
- Emergency access: How will emergency services reach the address, and who must be called if barriers or plant prevent the agreed route?
- On-site escalation: What is the name or role of the supervisor to contact when the arrangement on the ground differs from the notice?
West Sussex guidance says pedestrian and resident access should be maintained where possible, but vehicle access can be unavailable for some operations, including resurfacing. It notes that alternative parking may be needed. Therefore, ask for a workable alternative rather than assuming a vehicle can reach the property at all times.
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When the highway authority or council is the right contact
Oversight and compliance concerns
Use the authority route for concerns about the condition or management of the highway: failure to follow published or permit conditions, inadequate signing, untidy or abandoned equipment, defective reinstatement, or an unresolved issue about the authority’s statutory responsibilities. Tell the authority what the promoter has said and give the works reference so it can distinguish a compliance investigation from a routine access enquiry.
Unclear responsibility for the road
The correct authority depends on who owns or manages the route. A council may handle local roads while a separate body manages a major road through the same town. If the road is part of a strategic or managed network, the council may only be able to redirect you. Ask explicitly, “Which body is the highway authority for this section?” before filing a formal complaint.
Utility work started without useful notice
Local practice varies. Kent guidance says affected properties and businesses may receive information about access, closures, dates, hours and the type of work; it directs questions about utility work begun without notice to the utility company. That is a reason to contact the utility or other promoter first, while copying the authority when the issue also concerns coordination or permit compliance.
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Danger to life
If an open excavation, unstable barrier, live traffic conflict or other condition presents an immediate threat to life, use the local emergency number. Do not wait for a routine council form or an email reply. Keep people away from the danger if you can do so without putting yourself at risk.
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Urgent but not life-threatening hazards
Use the local hazard-reporting route designated by the highway authority. Dorset Council, for example, directs immediate hazard reports to telephone. Give the exact location, direction of travel, what is unsafe, whether anyone is trapped or unable to reach a property, and a callback number. Report a changed condition again if the first report does not match what remains on site.
Obstructions on different roads and in different UK nations
GOV.UK’s obstruction guidance sends reports for local roads to the local council but provides separate routes for certain major roads and for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Do not assume that an England local-road form is valid everywhere. Identify the road authority first, particularly where a trunk, motorway or other managed major route is involved.
A step-by-step contact process
- Define the access impact. Write down the property address, the entrance affected, whether the problem concerns walking, vehicles, deliveries, customers or emergency access, and the first date and time of the restriction.
- Capture site information. Photograph the information board, barriers, signs and the affected route. Note the promoter, contractor, reference number and any stated dates.
- Check the authority’s roadworks map. Confirm the promoter and whether the work is shown as planned, active or delayed.
- Contact the promoter. Ask the phase-specific questions above and request the answer in writing when access is critical to a business, a carer or a person with mobility needs.
- Escalate to the authority if needed. Contact the responsible highway authority when the promoter cannot be identified, does not respond, or the issue concerns signs, reinstatement, cleanliness, abandoned equipment or compliance.
- Use the urgent route for danger. A routine complaint and a hazard report are different records. Send an immediate hazard through the local telephone or reporting channel and use emergency services for a life-threatening situation.
- Keep a concise log. Record dates, times, names or roles, reference numbers, photographs, promised actions and the actual effect on access. This is practical recordkeeping, not a stated universal evidentiary requirement, but it makes follow-up far more precise.
What access arrangements are realistic?
Pedestrians and residents
Guidance commonly aims to keep pedestrian and resident access available where the work allows. That may mean a temporary footway, a signed crossing or a short diversion. The route must still be usable in the actual conditions: check lighting, surface, width, kerbs and whether barriers leave enough room for mobility aids.
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Vehicle access is more vulnerable to excavation, surfacing, crane operations and freshly laid materials. A contractor may need to close a driveway for a defined operation even when people can walk through. Ask whether the closure is continuous, whether vehicles can pass between work periods, and where lawful temporary parking or loading can occur. Do not block a footway or create an informal crossing without the promoter’s instructions.
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Businesses and customer access
Tell the promoter how deliveries, staff shifts, customer drop-offs and accessible entrances work. Ask for advance notice of each phase, a signed alternative entrance and a contact who can respond when the announced arrangement fails. A promise that “the road will be open” may not answer whether a delivery vehicle can turn, wait or unload.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Local road, major road or another UK jurisdiction?
| Situation | Likely first route | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Local road in England | Works promoter for access; local council or highway authority for oversight | Confirm which authority manages the particular road. |
| Major or strategically managed road | The road’s managing authority or its obstruction route | The local council may redirect you to a separate body. |
| Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland | The region-specific obstruction and road authority route | Do not apply an England process automatically. |
| Unidentified road responsibility | Local council or highway authority enquiry desk | Ask it to identify both the road manager and the works promoter. |
The Department for Transport’s England coordination code was updated on 19 March 2026 and applies from 10 April 2026. It gives practical guidance to English local authorities and undertakers coordinating works under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. It is England guidance, not a single rule for every UK jurisdiction, and it does not replace the site-specific answer from the promoter.
Common situations and the next call
“My driveway is blocked today.”
Call the promoter shown on the board and ask which operation caused the closure, when vehicles can return and where to park meanwhile. If the board is missing, ask the council or highway authority to identify the promoter. Report dangerous positioning of barriers or plant through the urgent hazard route.
“Customers can reach the pavement but not the shop entrance.”
Ask the promoter for a signed pedestrian route, an accessible alternative and the dates of each phase. If the agreed route is not provided or is unsafe, send the evidence and works reference to the highway authority as a compliance concern.
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“The trench was filled, but the road is unsafe.”
Notify the promoter, then contact the highway authority about defective reinstatement. Include the location, photographs, date and whether the defect creates an immediate hazard.
“No one knows who authorised the work.”
Use the authority’s roadworks map and enquiry route. Ask for the promoter, permit or works reference and the body responsible for the road. Once identified, direct detailed access questions to the promoter.
Errors that delay a useful answer
- Calling only the council about a contractor’s changing daily access arrangement.
- Calling only the contractor about road ownership, reinstatement enforcement or an authority’s statutory duty.
- Reporting a dangerous obstruction through a slow general enquiry form instead of the local urgent route.
- Assuming “pedestrian access maintained” means a car, van, delivery or wheelchair route is also available.
- Relying on an old letter without checking the current board, map and phase dates.
- Describing a whole street without giving the exact entrance, side of the road, direction and time of impact.
Bottom line for residents and businesses
For a specific access arrangement, contact the organisation doing the work. Find it on the site board or roadworks map; if it cannot be identified, ask the responsible highway authority or council. Take authority-level complaints about compliance, reinstatement, abandoned equipment and unresolved statutory duties to the road manager. Treat immediate hazards separately, using the local urgent route and emergency services when life is threatened. Because road ownership and local practice differ, confirm the jurisdiction before relying on any contact instruction.
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