Monday Tech Talks – Wayleave

Have you ever wondered what are the requirements for construction projects that are closely erected to a public area? Some sites will have to utilize these public spaces such as the walkways or paths to simply occupy the space for scaffolding. There is, believe it or not, an application process that is required before this could happen. It is called a wayleave.

What is a wayleave?

According to Wikitionary, “a Wayleave is the right to cross land”. With regards to law, is “access to property by a landowner for payment, for example to allow a contractor access to a building site. Other countries refer to this term as a “right-of-way” or an “easement”: which is the right to use the real property of another without possessing it.

The importance of a Wayleave

Utility services are required within any town or city to service the population. For example, public roads are normally built on public land that is owned by the local council. The council is responsible to administrate the land and need to provide permission to all parties before any utility services or infrastructure is installed. As it will temporarily disrupt the use or space of the public land.

These application procedures are handled by the Service Coordination Office in the Transport and Roads Department – when specifically applying for a wayleave in Tshwane. This will include the following: the responsible use of public assets, by coordinating service installation, minimizing service clashes, simplifies maintenance of assets, and minimizes collateral damage due to new installations or construction. The activities and other work within the public space results in delays, inconvenience, danger and additional cost to the users of the public space. It could also have serious cost implications as a result of the following:

• Damage to roads and other Services
• Damage to vehicles
• Injury to vehicle occupants or pedestrians
• Reduction of the effective life of the road, footway or other services
• Time and social costs caused by delays

Using this formalized system, it provided the opportunity for the council to control the installation of services, and to specify the installation and protection requirements for the installed services. It is also a means to verify that the service designs meet the engineering and other standards required.

Application Process:

Register

The first step is to register on the City of Tshwane website:

A valid email address is required so that there is a confirmed communication channel between the two parties.

Add an application

Once the registration section is completed, the application for a Wayleave can be filled in by using the Application tab on the menu when logged in the registered account. This tab will showcase a list of applications that have been submitted or are in the process of being submitted.

Application Fees

After the application has been submitted, a Payment Due message will be sent indicating the amount and Payment Reference number. This payment can be made by using Internet Banking. The payment requirement will become active when the SAP integration process is complete.

Application Evaluation

The application will be evaluated according to the Design Standards and Code of Conduct of the City of Tshwane.

Application Phases:

The application is divided into 3 phases:

• Service Inquiry – a preliminary investigation will take place to identified which services might be affected. The systems will assist by submitting the application information to all the required service owners registered on the system.
• Cross-Cut – During this stage it is required to plan and execute targeted cross-cut with the purpose of confirming the services identified during the service inquiry phase.
• Wayleave – A detailed design of the project will be provided, making use of the information obtained during the first two phases.

Required Documents

During this stage the system will attempt to guide the applicant through the documentation requirements for each phase of the application process. The required documents become more time-consuming as the phases progress towards the final stages of the application. 

The aim of a Wayleave is to minimize the effect of all work in the public space to benefit of all concerned, specifically the ratepayers, road users, service agencies and the road authority. This initiative can only be successful if every agency and department that works within the public sector co-operates by working according to the regulations. A Wayleave application is required for some construction projects and the above mentioned is a brief overview of the topic.

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