Scaffolding & Hoarding Permits

All scaffolding/hoarding placed on the public highway must have a permit. It is the responsibility of the company providing scaffolding/hoarding to contact the Council requesting permission to place it on the highway.

A permit will not be issued to a member of the public.

A copy of the company’s Liability Insurance must be provided prior to the approval of the permit. No permits will be issued to companies with liability insurance that does not exceed £10,000,000.

Permits are required to ensure scaffolding is not placed so as to block access to property or apparatus within the highway, reduce highway widths to an unacceptable extent or to restrict visibility at junctions, access and crossing points. If any of these are affected during the erection of the scaffold/hoarding the Highway Authority must be contacted and a site visit arranged to discuss the situation. However, this must be done prior to the erection of the scaffold/hoarding.

Permits are also required for builder’s cabins and hoarding to be placed on any Council owned land, including car parks, footways and the highway.

You must not erect scaffold or hoarding on the Public Highway without a permit from us. You must give at least 24 hours notice when applying for a licence.

Scaffold/Hoarding must be clearly marked with the owners name, address and 24 hour emergency contact telephone number.

The fees for a standard scaffold/hoarding permit are £59 per week or part of, (to be paid in advance).

The authority must be informed when the scaffold/hoarding is removed.

If a permit is not obtained or there is a failure to comply with the conditions specified the offending company may be liable for prosecution.

Any scaffold/hoarding (illegally placed or otherwise) deemed dangerous by the authority will be removed and stored and the relevant company informed and re-charged. Any scaffold/hoarding not complying with the above or on the Highway without a permit will be deemed to be illegal. In such circumstances a fee for non-compliance of this policy will incur an initial charge of £195. Where considered appropriate by the Highway Authority a minimum removal fee of £160 will also be applied. However this cost could increase markedly depending on the size of structure that has to be removed. All reasonable costs incurred will be reclaimed by the authority.

It should be noted that a failure to obtain a relevant and up to date permit will result in the scaffold/hording (if placed on the Highway) being classed as illegal. In such circumstances this will result in your insurance cover being classed as null and void.

Conditions of Approval

• You must indemnify the Borough Council against all claims, however caused, or arising from or attributable to, the erection of the scaffold/structure and other works to be carried out, you should ensure in respect of liability imposed by the conditions
• The scaffold/structure at all times must clearly display the owners name, address and 24hrs telephone number
• You must give the highways inspector adequate notice of your intention to commence your works
• The scaffold is to be erected in such manner as to form the least obstruction vertically with the minimum headroom of 2.1 metres and a minimum of 300 mm from the kerb line
• A ‘Right of Way’ must be maintained for pedestrians on the length of footway affected and no building tools or materials should endanger or impede highway or footway user.
• The whole structure must be protected by danger lamps throughout the hours of darkness
• You will of course, be required to dismantle and remove the scaffold/structure as soon as is practicable and to reinstate the footway if damaged, to the complete satisfaction of my NRASWA Inspector, or other officer of my department.

No blank copies of the permits are available. The company must contact the authority in order to obtain the permit. You can apply for a Scaffolding/Hoarding Permit online here.