In what must be the best news in recent times for motorsport in the UK and rallying in particular, on Friday 17th March the long awaited secondary legislation was enacted and comes into effect on 10th April 2017
This applies only to England, the same legislation will apply to Wales but will need to be enacted by the Welsh Assembly. This is expected to happen in the next few months. Scotland has it's own legislation that has not yet been enacted and is unlikely to proceed before the outcome of the Scottish Fatal Accident Enquiry.
The MSA is the authorising body for 4 wheel motorsport and the ACU is the authorising body for 2 wheel motorsport.
The process for applying for a 'Motor Race Order' (the term used for all types of motorsport application) is fairly straightforward!! At least 6 months prior to the event you must apply to the relevant highways authority (most likely to be a county council highways department) for a 'Motor Race Order'. Prior to this application you must have an MSA permit for your event. In addition to the normal requirements for an MSA permit you will also need to submit a detailed Safety and Operations Manual. I believe the MSA are developing a comprehensive package of support and requirements for potential event organisers.
The MSA deserves a huge amount of thanks and support for making this happen. Be under no illusions, this has only happened because of the work done by the MSA over the last 5+ years.
No idea if any events will actually happen, but at least it's legally possible now...