The Traffic Orders Procedure (Amendment) (Wales) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision with respect to certain traffic orders made and notices given in Wales, under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. They are being introduced as an emergency measure in response to the effects of coronavirus.

They amend the procedure for making traffic orders and giving notices by providing an alternative means of publicising orders in circumstances where it is not reasonably practicable to follow the current publicity requirements as a result of coronavirus. They also simplify the procedure for making temporary traffic orders that are made for purposes connected to coronavirus.

These Regulations amend—

(a) the Road Traffic (Temporary Restrictions) Procedure Regulations 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”);

(b) the Local Authorities’ Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”); and

(c) the Secretary of State’s Traffic Orders (Procedure) (England and Wales) Regulations 1990 (“the 1990 Regulations”).

Regulation 2 amends the 1992 Regulations, which set out procedures in connection with the making of temporary traffic orders and the giving of notices by inserting a new Part 7 into those Regulations (inserting new regulations 22 to 27). The new regulation 23 relates to the publicity requirements for traffic regulation orders and notices. The amendments provide a traffic authority with the option of using alternative arrangements for publicising a notice relating to a traffic order, where it is not reasonably practicable to publish in a newspaper circulating in the area, or to post notices on site, for reasons connected to the effects of coronavirus, including restrictions on movement.

The new regulation 24 relates to temporary traffic orders which are made for purposes connected to coronavirus. A simplified procedure applies to the making of orders that fall within this purpose.

Regulation 3 amends the 1996 Regulations, which set out procedures for making permanent and experimental traffic orders, by inserting a new Part 7 into those Regulations (inserting new regulations 30 to 33). The amendments provide an order making authority with the option of using alternative arrangements for publicising a notice relating to a traffic order, where it is not reasonably practicable to publish in a newspaper circulating in the area for reasons connected to the effects of coronavirus, including restrictions on movement. They also permit a traffic authority to use alternative means to make documents available to the public, where it is not reasonably practicable to make documents available for inspection at a specific address, for reasons connected to the effects of coronavirus.

Regulation 4 amends the 1990 Regulations, which set out procedures for certain traffic orders made by the Welsh Ministers in relation to trunk roads and countryside roads, and orders under the Welsh Ministers’ reserve powers in Schedule 9 to the 1984 Act. These amendments are to the same effect as the amendments made to the 1996 Regulations.

The amendments made by these Regulations will cease to have effect at the end of 31 July 2021. These Regulations provide for transitional provisions to preserve continuity following the expiry of the amendments.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. A regulatory impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as the Regulations need to be put in place quickly to deal with an emergency associated with the effects of coronavirus.