The Department shall not make a designation order in respect of an existing road unless it is satisfied that adequate alternative facilities for traffic, other than traffic authorised to use the road on its being opened for use as a special road, are available or will be made available before the date on which the road is opened for use as a special road.

Without prejudice to any other provision of this Part, a designation order may authorise the Department to construct a new road where it appears to the Department to be necessary or desirable for any purpose connected with a special road and, where any such new road is constructed for temporary purposes, to close that road after such period as may be specified in or determined under the order.

A special road shall be for the use of such classes of traffic as may be prescribed in the designation order made in respect of that road and different classes of traffic may be so prescribed in relation to different parts of a special road.

The classes of traffic prescribed by a designation order shall be prescribed by reference to the classes set out in Schedule 1.

The Department may, by order made subject to negative resolution, vary the composition of any class of traffic set out in Schedule 1.

In paragraph (4) “existing designation order” means a designation order made before the order under paragraph (3) comes into operation.

Any person, other than a person authorised by the Department, who constructs or alters any means of access to a special road shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

In assessing compensation to which any person is entitled by virtue of this Article regard shall be had to any new means of access provided or to be provided by the Department.

Any question of disputed compensation arising under this Article shall be referred to and determined by the Lands Tribunal.

A special road shall not be used, except as provided by or under regulations made under this Article, by any traffic other than traffic of a class prescribed in relation to that road by the designation order made in respect of it.

Until such date as may be declared by a notice published by the Department in the Belfast Gazette as the date on which a special road is open for use by traffic of the prescribed classes, no person shall use that special road unless he is authorised by the Department to do so.

If any person uses a special road in contravention of paragraph (1) or (2), or of any regulations made under paragraph (3), he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

This Article (other than paragraph (2) and so much of paragraph (4) as relates thereto) and any regulations made thereunder shall not apply to any part of a special road until the date declared by the notice mentioned in paragraph (2) as the date on which it is open for use by traffic of the prescribed classes, but nothing in this paragraph shall be construed as preventing the making of regulations under this Article so as to come into force, in relation to any such road, on that date.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), any person who erects or exhibits or causes or permits to be erected or exhibited any advertisement or notice which is sited or designed wholly or mainly for the purpose of being visible to persons using a special road or which is likely to prejudice the safety of traffic using a special road shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

The Department may by regulations exempt from the provisions of paragraph (1) advertisements or notices of any class or description specified in the regulations or situated in any areas so specified or which comply with such conditions, if any, as may be so specified.

Any person convicted of an offence under paragraph (1) shall within such period as the court may allow remove any advertisement or notice exhibited or displayed in contravention of that paragraph, and if he fails to do so he shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one-tenth of level 3 on the standard scale for each day upon which such failure continues.

Where a person who has been convicted under paragraph (1) becomes liable to prosecution for an offence under paragraph (4), the Department may itself remove the advertisement or notice and do all such things as may be necessary for that purpose and may recover from that person any expenses thereby reasonably incurred by it.

Where in the opinion of the Department any advertisement or notice referred to in paragraph (2)(b) is prejudicial to the safety of traffic using a special road, the Department may serve a notice upon the owner or occupier of the land on which the advertisement or notice is situated directing him to remove the advertisement or notice (including any structure, wall, hoarding or other apparatus on which the advertisement or notice is exhibited) and, where a notice is so served, paragraphs 3 to 8 of Schedule 4 shall apply as if the notice had been served under Article 49.

In this Part a “concession agreement” means an agreement entered into by the Department under which a person (the “concessionaire”), in return for undertaking such obligations as may be specified in the agreement with respect to the design, construction, maintenance, operation or improvement of a special road, is appointed to enjoy the right (conferred or to be conferred by a toll order under this Part) to charge tolls in respect of the use of the road.

Except as otherwise expressly provided by any of the following provisions of this Part, the provisions of this Order apply in relation to a special road in relation to which a concession agreement is in force (referred to in this Part as a “road subject to a concession”) as in relation to any other special road.

A concession agreement shall provide that any land held by the concessionaire which in the opinion of the Department is required, in connection with the matters provided for in the agreement, for any purpose for which the Department may acquire land under Part IX shall be transferred to the Department without payment.

A concession agreement relating to the design and construction of a special road shall provide that if a designation order is not made in respect of the road or the Department decides not to proceed with the proposed road, the Department shall pay to the concessionaire such compensation in respect of costs incurred by him as may be determined in accordance with the agreement.

A concession agreement relating to the design and construction of a special road shall provide that if the concessionaire fails to complete the road in accordance with the agreement, he shall, without prejudice to any other liability, pay to the Department such compensation as may be determined in accordance with the agreement in respect of costs incurred by the Department.

Nothing in a concession agreement shall be construed as affecting the status of the road subject to the concession as a public road maintainable by the Department.

A concession agreement may authorise the concessionaire to exercise on behalf of the Department such road functions to which this Article applies as may be specified in the agreement.

The Department may recover from the concessionaire the costs incurred by it in exercising in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (3)(a), (b) or (c) a road function exercisable by the concessionaire.

The concessionaire shall in the exercise of a road function act in accordance with the terms of the concession agreement; and the agreement may provide for the withdrawal of the concessionaire's authority to exercise any such function.

The following provisions have effect with respect to the operation of theF3 Road Traffic Regulation (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (in this Article referred to as “the Regulation Order”) in relation to a road subject to a concession.

The Department shall consult the concessionaire before making any regulations or order under theF3 Regulation Order specifically relating to the road.

The concessionaire may cause or permit traffic signs (within the meaning of Article 2(2) of theF3 Regulation Order) to be placed on or near the road, but subject to any directions given by the Department.

The concessionaire may impose restrictions or prohibitions underF3 Article 7 of the Regulation Order on the use of the road; and any such restrictions or prohibitions shall have the same effect as restrictions or prohibitions imposed by the Department.

F3Article 7 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Regulation Order shall apply in relation to the imposition of restrictions or prohibitions by the concessionaire with the substitution for references to the Department of references to the concessionaire.

Before imposing any restriction or prohibition by virtue of paragraph (4) the concessionaire shall consult with the Department concerning the use by traffic affected by the restriction or prohibition of suitable alternative routes.

A restriction or prohibition imposed by the concessionaire by virtue of paragraph (4) may be revoked or varied by the Department and shall cease to have effect if a restriction or prohibition inconsistent with it is imposed by the Department underF3 Article 7 of the Regulation Order.

Where the Department has entered into a concession agreement it may grant to the concessionaire a lease of any land if it appears to the Department to be expedient to do so for the purpose of or in connection with the exercise by the concessionaire of his functions under the agreement.

No statutory provision or rule of law regulating the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants shall prejudice the operation of an agreement between the Department and the concessionaire as to the terms on which land which is the subject of a lease granted under paragraph (1) is provided for the concessionaire's use.

The rights of a concessionaire under a concession agreement may be assigned with the consent of the Department and references in this Part to the concessionaire shall be construed as references to the person for the time being entitled to exercise those rights.

On the termination of a concession agreement (by effluxion of time or otherwise) there shall be transferred to the Department by virtue of this Article all such property, rights and liabilities of the concessionaire as in accordance with the concession agreement fall to be so transferred in the circumstances.

The Department may make an order authorising the charging of tolls (a “toll order”) in relation to a special road proposed to be provided by the Department.

The order shall state whether it authorises the charging of tolls by a concessionaire or by the Department.

Schedule 3 has effect as to the making of a toll order.

The proceedings required to be taken in relation to a toll order shall (so far as practicable) be taken concurrently with the proceedings required to be taken in relation to the designation order in respect of the road to which the toll order relates.

The Department shall not make the designation order or the toll order unless it makes them both.

A toll order shall provide for tolls to be chargeable for a period (the “toll period”) specified in or determined in accordance with the order.

In the case of a toll order authorising the charging of tolls by a concessionaire, it is for the Department to decide any matter relevant to determining the date on which the toll period ends.

A toll order authorising the charging of tolls by a concessionaire shall specify the maximum tolls which may be charged if, and only if, the road to which the order relates consists of or includes a major crossing to which there is no reasonably convenient alternative.

The Department may make provision by regulations as to what is to be treated as a major crossing for this purpose and as to the circumstances in which another route is to be taken to be, or not to be, a reasonably convenient alternative.

Subject to any such regulations, a major crossing means a crossing of navigable waters more than 100 metres wide and a reasonably convenient alternative means another crossing (other than a road ferry) which is free of toll and is within five miles of the crossing in question.

The order shall specify the maximum tolls which may be charged for the use of the crossing or any length of the road including the crossing; and if the condition as to absence of a reasonably convenient alternative is satisfied in relation to certain types of traffic only, the order shall make provision only in relation to those types of traffic.

The order may specify different maxima for different descriptions of traffic (which need not correspond with the classes of traffic prescribed by the designation order) and may provide for the amounts to be varied in accordance with a formula specified in the order.

Regulations under this Article shall not apply in relation to an order if notice of the draft order, and of the relevant draft designation order, have been published before the regulations come into operation.

A toll order authorising the charging of tolls by the Department shall in every case specify the maximum tolls which may be charged for the use of the road or any length of the road in respect of which tolls are charged.

The order may specify different maxima for different descriptions of traffic (which need not correspond with the classes of traffic prescribed by the designation order) and may provide for the amounts to be varied in accordance with a formula specified in the order.

Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), a toll order may be varied or revoked by an order made by the Department under this Article.

A toll order may not be varied so as to extend the toll period; and a toll order which does not authorise the charging of tolls in respect of the whole length of the special road to which it relates may not be varied so as to extend the length of road in respect of which tolls may be charged.

A toll order relating to a road subject to a concession may not be varied or revoked without the consent of the concessionaire.

An order under this Article may contain such supplementary, incidental and transitional provisions as appear to the Department to be necessary or expedient.

An order under this Article shall be subject to negative resolution and the provisions of Schedule 3 shall not apply to such an order.

The Department may make an order (an “extension toll order”) authorising the charging of tolls by the Department in relation to a road which is or has been subject to a concession.

The following provisions of this Part apply in relation to an extension toll order as in relation to a toll order under Article 28(1)—

An extension toll order shall be subject to negative resolution and the provisions of Schedule 3 shall not apply to such an order.

A toll order may contain provision exempting from liability for tolls such descriptions of traffic as may be specified in the order.

The Department may make provision by regulations with respect to the collection of tolls in pursuance of a toll order.

A person who without reasonable excuse refuses or fails to pay, or who attempts to evade payment of, a toll which he is liable to pay by virtue of a toll order shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Where a person does not comply with a requirement under paragraph (2)(b) as to the removal of his vehicle, he is liable to pay a prescribed charge in respect of the removal of the vehicle.

In this Article a “prescribed charge” means such charge as may be specified in, or calculated in accordance with, regulations made by the Department.

A person authorised by a toll order to charge tolls may set up and maintain facilities for the collection of tolls.

Those responsible for the design and construction of facilities for the collection of tolls, and those responsible for the collection of tolls at such facilities, shall have due regard to the need to avoid delaying the passage of such vehicles as are mentioned in Article 35(2)(a), (b) or (c) (police vehicles, ambulances and fire engines).

The power of the Department under Article 110 to acquire land for the provision of service areas includes, in the case of a road subject to a toll order, power to acquire any land required for the purpose of setting up facilities for the collection of tolls.

Facilities for the collection of tolls are exempt from rating and shall not be included in any valuation list.

In this Article “facilities for the collection of tolls” means such buildings, structures or other facilities within the boundary of the road, or on land adjoining the road, as are reasonably required for the purpose of or in connection with the collection of tolls in pursuance of a toll order.

Where a toll order is in force in relation to a road subject to a concession, no other road shall be so constructed as to afford access to that road except with the consent of the concessionaire.

Where a toll order is in force in relation to a road, no means of access to that road shall be constructed except with the consent of the Department and, where the road is subject to a concession, of the concessionaire.

The report shall be laid on or before 31st July in the following calendar year.