TMS Consultancy

Powering New Ground: Road Safety Audits at Rugeley

Powering New Ground: Road Safety Audits at the Former Rugeley Power Station

TMS Consultancy has been delivering Road Safety Audits for the redevelopment of the former Rugeley Power Station since February 2023, supporting a major housing and education-led development in Staffordshire.

Demolished in June 2021, the coal-fired power station had stood on the south-eastern side of Rugeley, Staffordshire, for fifty years, providing electricity to millions. The site is now undergoing regeneration and will, when complete, comprise a low-carbon mixed-use development of up to 2,300 homes, commercial uses, a new country park and an All-Through School.

The school has been completed and opened to secondary pupils in September 2025, with nursery and primary provision to follow in later phases.

School building in Rugeley.

A new spine road for a growing site

Between February 2023 and April 2024, TMS was commissioned to prepare Road Safety Audits on a new spine road serving the whole development site.

The initial design included over 3km of road, multiple junctions and connections to the A51, along with shared footway/cycleways, uncontrolled crossings and traffic calming.

Auditing a scheme of this scale meant considering how the road would need to work for people walking, cycling and driving, long before most of the surrounding development had been built. The audits provided an opportunity to identify potential road safety issues as the proposals developed and before the wider infrastructure was delivered.

Getting the school open ahead of the wider site

As the development progressed, there was a need to provide access to the All-Through School ahead of construction of the remainder of the site.

In December 2024, TMS was commissioned to prepare a Stage 1 Road Safety Audit for an interim highway scheme to facilitate this access. The proposals included temporary roads providing access to the school’s eastern and western car parks, together with separate shared footway/cycleways.

This arrangement allowed pupils travelling on foot and by bicycle to reach the school separately from vehicular traffic, while providing the access needed for the school to open ahead of the wider development.

Building site at the Former Rugeley Power Station.
Building site at former Rugeley powerstation with temporary traffic management signs.

Road safety from design through to completion

TMS provided ongoing road safety input as the interim school access progressed from initial design through to completion.

A Stage 1 Road Safety Audit was undertaken in January 2025, followed by a Stage 2 audit in February. As the scheme progressed towards opening, an Interim Stage 3 Road Safety Audit was completed in September 2025, ahead of the school opening, with the full Stage 3 audit following in November.

This continued involvement enabled the audit process to adapt as the development evolved, helping to ensure the interim school access operated safely while the wider site continued to develop.

Why this matters

Road Safety Audits are an essential part of highway design, including temporary and interim schemes. Undertaken in line with industry standard, GG119, they provide an independent review of highway proposals and help identify potential hazards early, when changes can be made more effectively. Addressing issues at this stage can help avoid more costly changes once a scheme has progressed into construction or operation.

The Rugeley project demonstrates how this approach can support complex developments delivered over a number of years. From the initial site-wide spine road to the temporary access required to bring the All-Through School forward, TMS has provided a consistent road safety perspective as the development has progressed.

The project also highlights the importance of maintaining that perspective as schemes move from design through construction and into operation, particularly where infrastructure is delivered in phases and the surrounding environment continues to change.

School building in Rugeley with fences around it.

Find out more

Whether a scheme is permanent, temporary or delivered in phases, TMS can provide Road Safety Audits throughout the design and construction process.

To discuss your requirements or to find out how TMS can support your scheme, please contact Lorna Styring

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Road Safety Audits

Travels with TMS – Reflections on 25 Years in Road Safety

Travels with TMS – Reflections on 25 Years in Road Safety

At TMS Consultancy, our team has decades of experience delivering Road Safety Audits and road safety projects across the UK and internationally. To mark his 25-year milestone with the company, Associate Director of Technical Services, Hammy Aulak, reflects on some of the remarkable places his career has taken him and the projects that have shaped his journey.

The following is Hammy’s personal account of his career in the road safety industry during his 25 years with TMS.

Recent summer site visits to carry out road safety audits in some wonderful locations – Sandown on the Isle of Wight and the seafront at Barmouth in Wales, set me thinking about the many places this career has taken me.

This year marks a milestone: 25 years of continuous service, having joined TMS Consultancy as a Senior Engineer in 2001. In that time, I have undertaken almost 6,000 audits. TMS is often thought of as a West Midlands firm, but our work extends nationwide and overseas. Our teams travel regularly across the UK, from the south coast to the north of England, and on to Wales, Scotland, Ireland and well beyond.

Over those 25 years I have been fortunate to contribute to projects in a remarkable range of places. A few stand out:

Dubai, UAE
My first overseas assignment, supporting a sign manufacturer by assessing high-risk sites for the introduction of high-retroreflective signage.

Aksay, Kazakhstan
A field project evaluating road safety across a large oil and gas complex, with further studies on urban public highways and rural routes.

3 people walking on a road.
Highway road in Qatar.

European Road Federation Demonstration Project
An international initiative delivering live road safety assessments in Brussels, Oslo and Barcelona.

Italy (Rome, Pisa and Milan)
A university-led project demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of low-cost collision reduction measures on high-speed inter-urban roads.

Qatar
Road Safety Audits for major expressway improvement schemes ahead of the country hosting the World Cup in 2022.

Edmonton, Canada
Road safety advice for proposed light rail transit systems.

Ireland – Republic and Northern
Extensive travel auditing national and trunk road schemes from preliminary design through to construction, including the Luas tram system and the Dublin Port Tunnel. The work took me to Dublin, Belfast, Donegal, Waterford, Cork and Galway, among many other places, as roads were upgraded to dual-carriageway and motorway standard.

UK
Closer to home, I have carried out road safety audits the length and breadth of the country. Among the most memorable settings are the Western Highlands of Scotland, the coastlines of Devon and Cornwall, Snowdonia, the Lake District and Northumberland.

Northumberland coast site visit

Travel can become routine, but this career has never felt that way. It has been a genuine privilege to experience such variety through my work and I’m grateful to TMS and the colleagues who’ve made it possible. Here’s to the next chapter and the next site visit.

Hammy Aulak, Associate Director of Technical Services

Hammy Aulak (TMS) smiling in a green background.

Get in Touch

Whether your project is in the UK or overseas, TMS Consultancy has the experience and expertise to support you. For advice on Road Safety Audits or other road safety engineering services, please call us on please call us on +44 (0)24 7669 0900 or alternatively please email Lorna Styring or request a quote using the link below.

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Road Safety Audits

Delivering Road Safety Audits for the A361 North Devon Link Road

Delivering Road Safety Audits for the A361 North Devon Link Road

Overview of the Road Safety Audits we carried out

TMS Consultancy has been involved in the A361 North Devon Link Road highway improvement scheme since June 2023, delivering both Stage 2 Detailed Design Road Safety Audits and Stage 3 Post-Construction Road Safety Audits.

 

North Devon Link Road, Bridge and Roundabout.

Introduction

The A361 North Devon Link Road connects North Devon and North Cornwall to the M5 motorway and the rest of the UK, acting as a crucial economic lifeline. Key objectives of the project include enhancing road safety, increasing traffic capacity, supporting regional economic growth and improving journey time reliability. The scheme focused on upgrading a 10-mile section of the route between South Molton and Barnstaple.
The works included the construction of new 2+1 wide single carriageway sections, a new grade-separated junction, two new roundabouts, improvements to existing priority junctions, and the creation of new pedestrian and cycle routes.

During the phased design and construction periods, TMS carried out over 20 Road Safety Audits. Our engineers undertook detailed inspections and assessments covering a wide range of safety-critical elements, some of which are highlighted below.

Safety-Critical Elements

Roadside features such as embankments, cutting slopes, drainage ditches and headwalls, to reduce the risk of vehicle rollover incidents. Rigid and heavy-duty items within verges, including signposts, lighting columns, trees, dense vegetation and telecommunications equipment, to minimise the risk of high-severity impact injuries.

Road Restraint Systems, ensuring they were correctly specified, located and installed to safely contain vehicles and redirect them away from roadside hazards.

Boundary fencing design, to reduce the risk of “spearing-type” injuries.

Signs, road markings and reflective studs, to ensure they were clearly visible, legible and correctly positioned to support safe driver navigation.

Street lighting provision, with particular focus on achieving appropriate uniformity at conflict points such as junctions and pedestrian crossing locations.

Skid resistance of the road surface, especially on approaches to bends, junctions and other higher-risk areas.

Visibility splays and stopping sight distances, ensuring compliance with design standards and suitability for the operating environment.

Pedestrian and cycle routes, reviewing surfacing, signing and lining to ensure safe and intuitive use.

Road Safety Audit on the Devon Link Road

What Our Road Safety Auditors Said

TMS engineers involved in the project, Hammy Aulak, Richard Marriott and Mike Fuller, commented:

“We were delighted to be involved in this significant infrastructure project. Our role allowed us to apply our expertise to help deliver a safer road for all users, while also enabling us to build on our knowledge of emerging technologies and best practice associated with large-scale highway schemes.”

A few more Road Safety Audits are planned to complete outstanding remedial works on certain project elements, with completion expected in early 2026.

Conclusion

Road Safety Audits remain a critical component of the highway design and delivery process, ensuring that schemes are safe, compliant and fit for purpose before opening to traffic. As demonstrated through this project, a structured audit undertaken in line with GG 119 enables potential safety risks to be identified early, supporting informed decision-making and helping designers, developers and highway authorities meet their statutory obligations.

For housebuilders, civil engineering consultancies and transport planners, engaging an experienced audit team adds value beyond compliance alone. Independent review, clear recommendations and a collaborative approach help reduce risk, minimise costly design changes later in the programme and contribute to safer outcomes for all road users.

If you would like to understand how a Road Safety Audit could support your scheme — whether at feasibility, detailed design or post-construction stage

Do you need a Road Safety Audit for your highway scheme? Whether local or nationwide, please call us on +44 (0)24 7669 0900 or please email Lorna Styring . Alternatively, you can request a quote using the link below.

Request a quote

FAQ

What is a Road Safety Audit?

A Road Safety Audit is a systematic process for checking the road safety implications of highway improvements and new road schemes. The objective of the process is to minimise future road collision occurrence and severity once the scheme has been built and the road comes into use.

The audit takes into account all road users, particularly vulnerable users such as pedestrians and pedal cyclists. Having identified potential road safety problems, the audit then makes practical recommendations for improvement.

With these safety objectives in mind, the auditors need to ask the question “Who can be hurt here, and in what way?”

Why is auditor independence important in a Road Safety Audit?

Independence ensures the audit is objective and free from design bias, providing unbiased safety recommendations that highway authorities and developers can trust. Independent audit teams are a key requirement in GG 119, find out how we ensure our audit teams independence at TMS.

What happens after a Road Safety Audit is completed?

Following the audit, the design team prepares a formal response, often called a Designers Response, to each recommendation, outlining how issues will be addressed or providing justification where recommendations are not accepted. This audit response process ensures transparency and accountability.

Road Safety Audits

St Mary’s Axe, City of London

St Mary's Axe, City of London

TMS recently conducted a Stage 1 Road Safety Audit associated with a temporary traffic management scheme on St Mary’s Axe in the City of London. The aims of the scheme were to minimise the impact of construction traffic associated with the redevelopment of 1 Undershaft (also known as St Helen’s Tower).

Located opposite 30 St Mary’s Axe (more commonly known as The Gherkin), the redevelopment, which includes the demolition of the existing St Helen’s Tower, would provide a new landmark tower in the City of London. Upon completion, the building will be the tallest in the City of London and the joint tallest in Western Europe, matching the height of the Shard. According to the architects, 1 Undershaft will also provide Europe’s highest publicly accessible viewing gallery and a ‘world-leading’ educational space curated by the London Museum. The development also includes enhanced public realm and a free-to-access public garden on the 11th floor of the building. A new public square featuring outdoor seating amongst trees and planting will also be provided.

The Works

The audited proposals comprised the closure of the existing footway on the southern side of Undershaft and the provision of a pedestrian diversionary route to the north of Undershaft. An alternative diversionary route was also proposed, passing between The Leadenhall Building and the construction site. Amendments to existing on-street motorcycle parking bays were also proposed, accommodating construction access into the site from St Mary’s Axe.

Vehicle activity in and out of the three gates into the site would be managed by marshals with concertina barriers, controlling pedestrian movement across the openings.

St Mary's Axe Temporary Traffic Management.
Stage 1 Road Safety Audit

At the time of our commission, the works had commenced with the area around St Helen’s Tower fenced off and the temporary pedestrian diversions were in place. Marshals were controlling pedestrian movement across the existing underground car park access during vehicle movements.

 

Following an assessment of the existing highway environment in context with the proposals, the Audit Team recommended that a temporary ramp be provided at the transition between the existing footway on St Mary’s Axe and the carriageway. Due to the temporary closure of the southern footway on Undershaft, pedestrians would be required to negotiate a full height kerb to access the diversionary route.

It was also recommended that additional temporary signage was installed to provide pedestrians with clear directions around the closures, with signage located so that it did not impede movement.

St Mary's Axe kerb with ponding.

If you have a scheme of this nature that requires a Road Safety Audit, then please call us on +44 (0)24 7669 0900 or alternatively please email Lorna Styring or request a quote using the link below.

Request a quote

Road Safety Audits

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