Written by: Paul Foster, Founder, CEO, OnePlan
Key Takeaways
- Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law) makes security planning a legal requirement for UK events, while road closures remain a local council responsibility with no centralised national map.
- Event planners must create precise road closure plans that show how access control and perimeter management support evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication.
- Authoritative sources for road closure information include GOV.UK, National Highways, local council websites, ProtectUK, and Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs), with up to three months’ notice often required.
- Modern mapping tools such as OnePlan support collaborative planning with live satellite imagery, drag-and-drop objects, and real-time sharing that reduces errors and speeds approvals.
- Ready to streamline your Protect Duty road closure planning? Start planning your closures today with OnePlan’s free trial or book a 15-minute demo.
What Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law) Means For Events
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. It arose from the Manchester Arena bombing of May 2017, which killed 22 people, and was championed by Martyn Hett’s mother, Figen Murray. The law turns security planning from optional best practice into a legal requirement for publicly accessible locations, including events.
The UK Government intends to allow at least 24 months after Royal Assent before core compliance requirements take effect. The first commencement regulations (SI 2026/320) brought only the statutory guidance provisions into force on 10 April 2026. The main operational duties will follow in later regulations, with full implementation expected around April 2027. That window gives you time to build robust processes before enforcement begins.
The Act uses a tiered system:
- Standard Tier (200–799 People): The responsible person must notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and have, so far as reasonably practicable, appropriate public protection procedures. Physical security measures are not mandated at this tier.
- Enhanced Tier (800+ People) And Qualifying Events: The responsible person must notify the SIA, implement public protection procedures, put in place appropriate physical security measures to reduce vulnerability, and document those procedures and measures for the SIA.
The Home Office statutory guidance, published in April 2026, defines four mandatory public protection procedures for every in-scope event:
- Evacuation, moving people away from danger by taking them out of the premises or event
- Invacuation, moving people to a safer location within the premises
- Lockdown, restricting movement into, out of, or within the premises
- Communication, alerting people to a threat and coordinating the response
These procedures shape your event footprint, perimeter, and road closure plan. “Reasonably practicable” means proportionate, where you balance what can be done against cost, time, and difficulty. A clear, well-documented closure plan helps you evidence that proportionality.
Why The UK Has No Centralised Road Closure Map
Protect Duty does not create a new road closure regime. Its relevance lies in how access control, event boundaries, and perimeter management support your wider security and public protection planning. Local highway authorities authorise and manage closures under separate legislation, mainly Section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for event closures, or Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders (TTROs) for broader traffic management. National Highways manages motorways and major A-roads.
Because local authorities authorise closures, no central government map aggregates them. Each council maintains its own records, and the picture changes with every event. Your road closure plan therefore sits firmly within your responsibilities to create, document, and share, with Protect Duty adding a security planning dimension to that work.
Official Sources For Road Closure Information
Several official sources help UK event planners gather accurate information:
- GOV.UK: The legal framework and statutory guidance for Martyn’s Law, including the Home Office Section 27 guidance published April 2026.
- National Highways: A rolling seven-day view of full closures on England’s strategic road network, searchable by date, road, and direction, with downloadable spreadsheet data.
- Local Council Websites: Most councils provide interactive roadworks and closure maps. North Yorkshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council offer good examples of interactive, colour-coded maps. Search your council site for “road closures” or “event road closures.”
- ProtectUK: The official UK police security guidance hub, with Martyn’s Law resources, video animations, and FAQs.
- Safety Advisory Groups (SAGs): Multi-agency forums chaired by the local authority and attended by police, fire, ambulance, highways, and environmental health. Waltham Forest Council’s SAG guidance is a useful model. SAGs review events that require road closures or traffic management, and their sign-off marks a key approval milestone.
Road closures can require up to three months’ notice. Contact your local council and SAG as early as possible, ideally at the start of your planning cycle.
How To Plan Road Closures For Your Event Under Protect Duty
This six-step process takes you from initial scoping through to public communication. OnePlan supports each stage as a browser-based platform where you plan on live satellite maps, place road closure objects at scale, and share a single live plan with every stakeholder.
Step 1: Define The Event Footprint And Required Closures
Begin with early conversations with your local council and SAG. Agree which roads need closing, for how long, and under which legal power, such as Section 16A, a TTRO, or the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 for smaller events. Monmouthshire County Council’s guidance explains that the correct mechanism depends on event size, duration, and complexity. Engage neighbours and local community councils before you submit any application.
Step 2: Gather Reliable Base Maps
Use current satellite imagery rather than old screenshots. OnePlan’s live, zoomable satellite base layer, built on GIS technology powered by Esri, often provides more recent data than council GIS systems. As South Fayette Township’s parks and recreation team found after moving from Google Earth, “When I logged into OnePlan all the images were recently updated and all the new construction was there already.”
Step 3: Map Closure Points, Diversions, And Emergency Access
Place barriers, signage, vehicle access points, and pedestrian diversion routes at the correct scale. OnePlan’s drag-and-drop objects, including crowd barriers, cones, signage, and points of interest for entrances, exits, and first aid, maintain accurate sizing as you zoom. The area and perimeter calculator instantly returns the size of any outlined space, so you know how much fencing or barrier to order before you commit budget.
Security planning guidance for Protect Duty recommends mapping pressure points such as entry points, vehicle-pedestrian crossings, and areas where visibility or control reduces. A properly scaled digital plan makes these risks easier to spot than a static screenshot.
Step 4: Share The Plan With Stakeholders
Police, traffic management teams, vendors, and emergency services all need a consistent view of the layout. OnePlan’s real-time collaboration keeps everyone working from one live plan, which removes emailed PDFs and version confusion. A stadium security and traffic management firm used OnePlan to coordinate roughly 400 road closures across seven procession routes for Coventry Moves, sharing the plan with 110 stakeholders. Work that previously took “a day for eight maps” in CAD took two hours in OnePlan.
Step 5: Prepare Approvals And Permit Submissions
Export high-resolution maps, up to A0 and print-ready, along with an auto-generated Bill of Quantities for SAG meetings and permit applications. Waltham Forest Council’s SAG requires a detailed site plan as part of the event management plan, submitted at least 10 days before the meeting. A precise OnePlan export meets that requirement and supports the “reasonably practicable” standard in the statutory guidance.
Step 6: Communicate Closures To The Public
Share closure details on your council website and through on-street signage. OnePlan’s shareable live links ensure the public always sees the latest version of the plan without your team repeatedly updating static files or web pages.
Why Mapping Tools Matter For Protect Duty Road Closures
Static maps, PDFs, and slide decks share a fundamental flaw: they are not to scale and cannot support true collaboration. Version control often breaks down as soon as more than one person edits the file. Common causes of permit rejection include unclear alternate routes, missing stakeholder details, and plans in unsuitable formats. Digital mapping tools help prevent these issues.
OnePlan addresses these failure points in a single browser-based platform. You plan on a live satellite map, place road closure objects, calculate distances and areas instantly, and share one live plan with every stakeholder. Nothing needs downloading or installation, and you can start placing objects within seconds without an engineering background.
The results show the impact. The Tour of Britain, an eight-stage, 1,352 km national road race, reduced site visits by 75%, saved more than 300 hours per year, and achieved a 3x ROI, with plans ready six months in advance as a living plan until race day. Eagle Mountain City cut event planning from 8–10 hours to a few hours per event and reported a 5x return on investment by replacing separate maps for fire, police, and facilities with a single shared layout.
For Protect Duty compliance, OnePlan helps you create documented closure plans that show proportionate security measures and provide the paper trail the SIA will expect during inspections.
Common Challenges And Troubleshooting
Even with a solid process, you may face recurring issues during road closure planning. These practical responses help you stay on track.
- Outdated Maps Or Lack Of Centralisation: OnePlan’s live satellite base layer often outperforms council GIS data for recency, which gives you a dependable starting point.
- Coordinating Multiple Stakeholders: Real-time collaboration and role-based permissions keep police, traffic management, emergency services, and vendors aligned on one shared plan instead of juggling several versions.
- Last-Minute Changes: Live editing makes updates visible instantly, so teams do not rely on outdated maps on event day.
- Public Communication: A view-only live link lets the public see current closure information without extra manual updates from your team.
- Permit Submission Format: OnePlan exports professional, print-ready maps up to A0 and generates a Bill of Quantities in Excel or CSV, which matches the formats SAGs and highway authorities typically request.
Measuring Success
Effective road closure planning shows up in smoother approvals, fewer revisions, better stakeholder alignment, and fewer site visits. Results from OnePlan customers highlight what you can achieve when your process works well:
- Eagle Mountain City cut planning from 8–10 hours to a few hours per event and achieved a 5x ROI.
- Tour of Britain saved more than 300 hours per year and reduced site visits by 75%.
- Silverstone, which plans the Formula 1 British Grand Prix and over 50 events per year, achieved a 13x ROI and a 10% reduction in planning days.
Under Protect Duty, documented evidence of proportionate planning is what the SIA will look for. Every hour saved on rework becomes time you can invest in security and safety planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Protect Duty (Martyn’s Law)?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, requires venues and events open to the public to prepare for terrorist threats. It received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025, with a minimum 24-month implementation period before core compliance requirements take effect. The Act applies across the UK and is regulated by the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
Do I Need A Road Closure Map For My Event?
Events that require road closures need a detailed plan for Safety Advisory Group approval and permit applications. Protect Duty adds a security dimension to this requirement, so your closure plan should show how access control, perimeter management, and emergency egress routes support evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication.
How Do I Find Road Closures In My Area?
Visit your local council website and search for “road closures” or “event road closures.” Most councils maintain regularly updated interactive maps. For motorways and major A-roads in England, use National Highways’ rolling seven-day closure report. Contact your council’s events team for the most current information and involve your local Safety Advisory Group early.
How Far In Advance Should I Plan Road Closures?
Many road closures require up to three months’ notice. For larger events with 5,000 or more attendees, build six to twelve months of lead time into your planning cycle. Engage your council and Safety Advisory Group as early as possible so you have time to resolve issues before event day.
Who Approves Road Closures For Events In The UK?
Local highway authorities, usually councils, approve event road closures, often using Section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 or Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders. National Highways manages motorways and major A-roads. The Safety Advisory Group, which includes police, fire, ambulance, and highways, reviews and advises on the overall event safety plan, including traffic management. SAGs advise, while the event organiser remains responsible for attendee safety.
Can I Use Google Maps For Road Closure Planning?
Google Maps helps with general orientation, but it does not provide scaled planning tools or collaborative editing. Plans built on screenshots often cause permit issues and layout errors on the day. OnePlan offers a geo-accurate, collaborative alternative built on live satellite imagery, which matches the level of detail highway authorities and Safety Advisory Groups expect in a professional event plan.
How Does OnePlan Support Protect Duty Compliance?
OnePlan lets you create shareable, documented closure plans that demonstrate proportionate security measures and support “reasonably practicable” compliance with statutory guidance. You can map evacuation routes, access control points, vehicle exclusion zones, and emergency access corridors at scale, export print-ready maps for SAG submissions, and share a live plan so every stakeholder works from the same current picture.
Plan Your Next Event The Easy Way
Protect Duty makes security planning a legal requirement for UK events, while no centralised map exists to guide your closures. A clear, collaborative road closure plan that records your proportionate security measures and gives every stakeholder a single source of truth fills that gap.
OnePlan makes that plan straightforward to build, share, and update. From a community street festival to a multi-stage national road race, the same drag-and-drop tools, live satellite base maps, and real-time collaboration features are available to every event planner, with your first event free.