Section 38 agreements

Design checks and supervision fees

St Helens Borough Council will charge for the design checks and supervision of the highway works. This fee is 10% of our estimated highway works costs (Bond Figure), which are calculated using the council term maintenance contracts rates. Once the Section 38 agreement has been signed by all parties, the agreement fees must be paid without delay prior to any works commencing on site.

The council will require an advance non-refundable application fee of £5460 (outside the scope of VAT) to cover the initial costs in respects of our initial comments on the proposals and our submission validation checks. Once the agreement has been completed, the application fee of £5,460 will be deducted from the design checks and supervision of the highway works agreement fees.

Legal fees

An additional fee of £2,500 must be paid to the Council's Legal Services Department prior to completion of the agreement. This fee covers the costs associated with drafting, administering, and distribution of the agreement.

Once the design checks have been completed, and the developer or landowner has provided evidence confirming their right to dedicate the land as public highway, the draft Section 38 agreement will be issued to the developer's appointed legal representative for comment. This will typically occur within 2-4 weeks of meeting these requirements. - No amendments to the wording of the Council's standard agreement documentation will be accepted.

The developer should note that should any changes to the agreement be required after the document has been engrossed then an additional fee of £500 will be required to be paid to our legal service department to cover the additional administrative costs. 

Commuted sums 

St Helens Borough Council may seek payment to pay for the future maintenance of the new or revised highway from the developer, acquiring monies via 'commuted sums' where necessary. Commuted sums allow greater flexibility for the highway authority to adopt non-standard materials and other items when development increases the council's future maintenance liability. The cost of commuted sums can vary depending on the asset however the cost is generally set at a minimum period of 15 years maintenance per asset. 

Below is a list of assets that attract commuted sums;

• Highway Gullies 
• Highway Manholes
• Kerb Drains 
• Block Paving
• Coloured Asphalt / Slurry
• Urban Traffic Control Equipment 
• Street Lighting
• Highway Verges 
• Highway Trees 
• Highway Structures 
• Street Furniture 

Developers should discuss their requirements with St Helens Borough Council's highways and transport planning department, prior to a full planning application. 

The council will provide the commuted sum figures upon completion of the technical approval process and all commuted sum figures will be payable upon completion of the Section 38 agreement.

Payment methods

Payments can be made by Standing Order, Online Bank Transfer or BACS using our bank account details shown below or alternatively, you may pay via an official council invoice. Please ensure you have obtained a payment reference prior to making any payments and quote this on all payments / correspondence. Payment references can be obtained by contacting St Helens Borough Council's highways and infrastructure service. Email: Highwayadoptions@sthelens.gov.uk or alternatively by telephone: 01744 673303.

Account Name: St Helens Council
Sort Code: 60-70-08
Account No: 94231397
Bank Name: National Westminster Bank
Bank Address: 5 Ormskirk Street, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 1DR