THE process for authorising the construction or operation of railways, tramways, trolley vehicle systems, other guided transport systems, inland waterways and certain structures interfering with the rights of navigation of waterways in England and Wales under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (TWAO) has been streamlined, writes Gareth Evans.
As reported in RM May 2023 (Headline News), a Department for Transport consultation which closed on April 7 outlined proposals to modernise the TWAO process to enable electronic applications instead of working solely with paper documents.
Following a positive response to the consultation, the guidance was updated on July 14 to reflect that TWAOs can now be submitted electronically. The changes will only apply to new applications which had not been submitted at the date of the changes coming into force.
In its response, the Government said:“While we understand why the proposal to include on-going applications was largely supported, in the interests of fairness and clarity, the government has decided that the changes to the TWAO rules will only apply to applications which have not yet been submitted at the date the proposed change comes into effect.