What a Section 278 actually costs a developer
Short answer
A Section 278 carries five separate costs: the highway authority's technical approval fee, its inspection fee, a commuted sum for future maintenance, a security bond, and the construction works themselves. Developers usually budget only the construction. The other four are set by the authority, not by your contractor.
The short version
- A Section 278 has five cost lines, and construction is only one of them.
- Technical approval and inspection fees are set by the highway authority, not by the contractor.
- A commuted sum covers future maintenance of anything non-standard you build.
- The bond is security, not a cost, but it ties up facility until adoption.
- Getting the design approved before you price the build saves the most money.
Ask a developer what a Section 278 costs and you usually get one number. The build.
That number is real. It is also, quite often, not the biggest one on the page.
We price Section 278 and Section 38 works most weeks of the year. The pattern is consistent. People budget the tarmac and the kerbs. Then the authority's fee schedule lands and the scheme looks different.
So here is the whole picture. Five lines, not one.
The five things a Section 278 actually costs
A Section 278 agreement is a contract with the highway authority. It lets you alter a road they are responsible for. Naturally, they want covering for that.
| Cost line | Who sets it | Why it exists |
|---|---|---|
| Technical approval fee | Highway authority | Their engineers check your design against their standards |
| Inspection fee | Highway authority | They attend site through the build and sign off the stages |
| Commuted sum | Highway authority | They will maintain what you build, forever, so they price that |
| Security bond | Authority sets value | Covers them if you stop work or leave defects |
| Construction | Your contractor | Actually building the thing |
Notice who sets four of the five.
That is the part worth sitting with. Your contractor controls one line. The authority controls the rest. Which means choosing a cheaper groundworks firm moves a smaller share of your total than most people assume.
Technical approval is where the money is decided
Technical approval sounds like paperwork. It is not.
It is the stage where the authority's engineers look at your drawings and decide what you are allowed to build. Every decision made there flows into the other four lines.
Specify a standard kerb and a standard construction build-up? The commuted sum stays modest. Specify something decorative, or something the authority has never maintained before, and the sum climbs.
We have seen schemes where a material choice made casually at design stage cost more in commuted sum than the entire kerbing package cost to build.
The cheapest Section 278 is the one that was designed to be cheap to maintain, not the one that was tendered hardest.
What a commuted sum is really paying for
Here is the logic. You build a new junction. You walk away. The authority owns it now.
In fifteen years something fails. They pay. So they ask you, up front, for a contribution towards that.
It applies to what the guidance calls non-standard and extra-over features. Plain asphalt carriageway to their own spec? Usually little or nothing. Block paving, a signalised crossing, anything bespoke? That is where it bites.
What we actually do, and what we do not
We are the contractor. We build the works.
We do not negotiate the agreement, submit for technical approval, or arrange the bond. That is your highways consultant's job, and a good one is worth what they charge.
What we do is price the approved drawings honestly, build to the specification, and work to the authority's inspection regime so nothing has to be opened up twice. Our full groundworks capability means the drainage, the kerbs and the surfacing are all our crews, so there is no interface to argue about when an inspector is standing there.
You can see the shape of that on our recent projects, including a full bridge reconstruction through to carriageway resurfacing.
A sensible order to do this in
Get the design right. Get it approved. Then price the build.
Doing it the other way round feels faster. It rarely is. A price against unapproved drawings is a conversation you will have twice.
We work this way across the whole civils package, from drainage and concrete through to surfacing and reinstatement, so the same crew that digs the thing is the crew that finishes it.
If you have an approved drawing set and need the construction priced, send it over. We would rather look at real drawings than guess from a description.
Common questions
Who sets the Section 278 fees?
The local highway authority sets its own technical approval and inspection fees, and publishes a commuted sum formula. They vary between authorities, so a figure from a neighbouring county is a guide and nothing more.
Can the contractor reduce the commuted sum?
Not directly. The commuted sum follows the design. If the design specifies non-standard materials or features the authority will have to maintain, the sum goes up. Simplifying the design at approval stage is where the saving lives.
Is the bond money we lose?
No. A bond is security against the works not being completed or defects not being fixed. It is released when the authority is satisfied. It does, however, tie up facility for the whole of that period.
When do we actually have to pay?
Most authorities want the fees and the commuted sum before works start on a Section 278, and before adoption on a Section 38. Check the agreement, because the timing differs and it affects cash flow more than the amounts do.
Do you price the fees as part of your quote?
No, and you should be suspicious of anyone who does. We price the construction. The fees, the commuted sum and the bond sit between you, your highways consultant and the authority.