What this covers
Why you need it
Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.
What the Act carries
What our graph holds for Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves.
- Duties on businesses
- 32
- Penalties
- 20
- Exemptions
- 2
Duties on businesses under the Act
- Obtain construction consent before building a new road or extension s.21
- Construct new road without consent or breach consent condition s.22
- Directors and managers liable for business road offences s.22n1
- Make false statement to obtain road project decision s.22A
- Do not alter, obstruct or interfere with road drainage works without consent s.31
- Allow a business to commit a roads offence through consent, connivance or neglect s.55D
… and 26 more business duties in the same Act.
What happens if you get it wrong
- False statements or documents for road project approval Unlimited fine
- Make false statement to obtain road project decision Unlimited fine
- Allow a business to commit a roads offence through consent, connivance or neglect
- Allow an animal to stray onto a road
- Carry out dangerous roadworks
… and 15 more penalties in the same Act.
Exemptions that may take you outside it
- Road works and utility works exempt from footway use restrictions — Using appliances or vehicles on footways, footpaths or cycle tracks for road construction, maintenance, improvement or cleansing; or, for statutory …
- Telecoms network operators exempt from Roads (Scotland) Act obligations — You are an operator of an electronic communications code network and the apparatus is kept installed for that network
Read our full dossier on Roads (Scotland) Act 1984
Who issues it
Your local council issues this. Councils apply the same statute but set their own fees, conditions and timescales.
Where to apply
Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.