Form

Stopping up and diversion of highways: application guidance

Updated 3 December 2024

Applies to England

Overview of the process 

You will need to: 

• talk to the highway authority about the areas to be stopped up

• complete the application form, including uploading planning permission documents and plans 

• respond to any questions that the Department for Transport have 

• display the draft notice that we send you 

• resolve, or try to resolve, any objections that we send on to you  

• display the made notice that we send you, if the order is made

Documents you will need to provide in your application 

You need to show that you have, or are in the process of getting, planning permission. You will need to provide one of these:   

• granted planning permission decision notice 

• a copy of your submitted planning application 

• a certificate or note from your local authority saying this is a permitted development and you do not need planning permission 

You will also need to provide plans that show: 

•  the current site 

• what the area will look when the development is completed 

• the site and highway boundaries 

• the highway(s) that you are applying to stop up 

More details on the plans are given in the Plans section of this guidance.

Plans that you will need to provide

Plan(s) showing boundaries 

You should provide plans that show: 

• the site boundary

• the existing highway boundary within the site

• what the area will look like when the development is completed 

• a North pointer 

You can submit these on one or multiple plans. 

Do not send copies of the elevation plans.

Stopping up plan  

Your stopping up plan should show the changes you will make, including: 

• the highway to be stopped up – in zebra hatching or black outline 

• new highways – in stipple 

• improvements – in cross-hatching 

• new footpaths – in vertical hatching 

These are shown in our example stopping up plans. 

It should show information about the area, including: 

• the existing highway layout 

• some of the surrounding area, so people can see where the stopping up is taking place 

• street names 

• building numbers or names near the area to be stopped up 

• a North pointer 

 Your plans should be: 

• true to scale 

• drawn to a scale of 1:1250 or 1:500 

• A3 or A4 size 

• based on Ordnance Survey 

• in black and white 

• dark enough to be photocopied  

• uploaded in PDF format and say what size they should be printed 

 The measurements on your stopping up plans must match the measurements you provide in your application form. If the measurements do not match, we will contact you to correct them. 

We have example stopping up plans on the homepage to help you.

File types 

You can upload your documents in these formats: 

Documents

csv, doc, docx, ods, odp, odt, pdf, ppt, pptx, rdf, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx, xml  

Images

jpg, jpeg, gif, png, svg

Other

chm, diff, dot, dxf, eps, gml, ics, kml, ps, ris, sch, vcf, wsdl, xlsm, xlt, xsd, xslt, zip

Details of a public office to display the order, notice and plan

The draft and made order and plan must be available in a local public office for members of the public to view. The public office must be open during usual working hours. You must: 

• choose a local public office 

• get their permission to display the plans there 

• give us the address of the office in your application  

We will send the documents to the public office at the appropriate time. 

The local office you choose could be, for example: 

• a post office 

• a library 

• a local authority office

What happens after you apply 

1. Checks 

We will get in touch with you if we have any questions about details on your application. If you do not reply, this will cause delays. 

2. Draft order, plan and notice 

We will send you: 

•  a copy of the draft notice, order and plan  

• a certificate of posting to complete 

You will need to put a copy of the draft notice at either end of the highway to be stopped up and then send us the certificate of posting that tells us you have done this.  

You need to make sure the copies of the draft notice are maintained in place for the 28-day consultation period. 

We will send: 

•  the draft notice to the London Gazette and a local newspaper to publish 

• the draft order, notice and plan to the local public office that you have chosen 

• the draft order, notice and plan to the statutory consultees

3. Consultation period 

The 28-day consultation period starts when the draft notice is published in the press.  

Members of the public and statutory consultees will be able to: 

•  view the draft order, notice and plan 

• make objections 

4. Objections 

 We will pass valid objections to you. You will need to: 

•  resolve them with the objector 

• keep us informed of your conversations with the objector 

If you are unable to resolve an objection or objections, this can go to Public Inquiry. 

5. Made order, notice and plan  

The stopping up order can be made when: 

• the planning permission decision notice has been received  

• all objections have been withdrawn formally 

• if necessary, an inquiry has been held, and the inspector’s report and recommendations have been considered 

We will send you: 

•  a copy of the made notice, order and plan  

• a certificate of posting to complete 

You will need to put a copy of the made notice at either end of the highway to be stopped up.  

We will send: 

•  the made notice to the London Gazette and a local newspaper to publish 

• the made order, notice and plan to the local public office that you have chosen 

• the made order, notice and plan to the statutory consultees 

The order is officially made from the day of publication.

There will be a 6-week challenge period during which people can go to high court to object to the order being made. 

You can stop up the highway during this period, but we advise to wait until the end of the period. 

If your planning permission has expired or the development cannot be implemented, the order will cease to have effect. 

6. Check the progress of your application 

You can check the process of your application by contacting your caseworker or emailing the team: nationalcasework@dft.gov.uk . 

7. Timescales 

We aim to process orders where there are no objections within 13 weeks of receiving all necessary information. 

Some things will make a difference to the length of time: 

• whether planning permission has been granted at the time the stopping up application is submitted 

• whether objections are made to the draft Order 

• whether changes are made to the area(s) to be stopped up following the draft Order publication 

• whether a Public Inquiry is needed

Help with your application

If you need help using the system or advice on stopping up orders, you can contact us. 

Phone 

Phone: 07786 190 909 

Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4pm (except public holidays).  

Outside these times, you can leave a voicemail and we will get back to you. 

Email 

Email: nationalcasework@dft.gov.uk 

We aim to respond to emails promptly.