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  3. Apply for a highways licence
  4. Apply for permission to place skips, scaffolds, hoardings, or building materials on the highway

Apply for permission to place skips, scaffolds, hoardings, or building materials on the highway

You need a licence from the council to place or store anything on a public carriageway or pavement.

If you are a supplier or contractor supplying a skip, scaffolding or hoarding, you are responsible for obtaining the relevant licence.

You can only apply for a licence if you are a supplier or contractor. Homeowners may only apply for a license in conjunction with the supplier or contractor.

If you are a householder, you should ensure your supplier or contractor has the appropriate license, insurance and accreditation, but may not apply for a license yourself.

You will need a license for the following items, even if they only partially encroach on the highway or pavement:

  • Skips
  • Scaffolding
  • Hoardings
  • Building materials

If you place skips, scaffolding, hoardings or building materials on private property with no encroachment onto the pavement or public highway, you will not need permission from the council.

If you need to renew a licence issued after 7 September 2023 you can now renew your licence online

Get ready to apply

Before starting this application, you'll need to get together everything you need to apply:

  • The proposed location of the skip, scaffold, hoardings or building materials
  • A credit or debit card to pay for the license
  • A site plan
  • The dimensions of any scaffolding or hoardings (in metres), and the approximate amount of material (in kgs)
  • Permission from Parking Services, if the proposed location currently has parking restrictions (such as a parking bay, double yellow lines, resident's parking zone). You can apply for a parking bay suspension on our website.
  • Current public liability insurance cover, with a £5 million indemnity limit
  • Check where our resident's parking zones are

Document uploads

As part of the application, you'll need to upload a copy, photograph, scan or screenshot of each of the following documents:

  • A site plan
  • A copy of your current public liability insurance certificate with a £5 million indemnity limit.

You can use any of these file formats for your uploads: jpg, pdf, png, doc, docx

Next steps

Applications can take up to 6 weeks to process.

If we need any further information, we will contact you.

Start now