Highway permits and licences

 

Fees and charges

If you wish to place a skip on the highway (carriageway, grass verge, footway or public footpath) you should speak to a skip hire company who will apply for a permit on your behalf. Skip companies must be registered with Cumbria County Council and have a current public liability insurance of £ 5 million.    

The skip company should give three working days notice when requesting a permit. This is to enable the council to carry out checks to ensure that the skip will not cause a danger or a significant obstruction to road users or those intending to carry out works in the highway.  

The council has a duty under the Traffic Management Act to ensure skips are on the highway for the minimum time. Users of skips can help by planning their work to reduce the hire duration.

Registered companies   

To apply for a permit you can:

Where possible the application form should be completed online and returned by email to streetworks.central@cumbria.gov.uk. This form should only be submitted by registered skip companies.

Register online to become a registered company.

Members of the public wishing to erect scaffolding on the highway should speak to a scaffolding company who will make the necessary arrangements

Only suitably qualified companies may erect scaffolding on the highway. Scaffolding companies who wish to obtain a licence to erect scaffolding on the highway must be registered with Cumbria County Council and have current public liability insurance of at least £ 5 million. A licence can be valid for a maximum of 4 weeks. Should a licence be required for less than this period the application should state the planned duration. Seven working days notice is required to process an application or to reissue a licence.

Registered companies

To apply for a permit you can:

Where possible the application form should be completed online and returned by email to streetworks.central@cumbria.gov.uk. This form should only be submitted by registered scaffold companies.

Register online to become a registered company.

The 1980 Highways Act requires that any person proposing to erect or take down a building in a street, or alter or repair the outside of a building in a street shall, before beginning the work, erect a close boarded hoarding or fence to the satisfaction of the highway authority. This obligation to erect a hoarding or fence may only be dispensed with following agreement in writing from the Highway Authority, Cumbria Highways.

To apply for permission to erect a hoarding or fence in or alongside the highway or to dispense with the requirement:

Street Work permits

A street work permit scheme aims to help the County Council minimise disruption from road and street works and associated activities.

Under the scheme any company undertaking road or street works has to book time on the highway by obtaining a permit from the County Council.

Any person wishing to place and thereafter inspect, maintain, adjust, repair, alter or renew or maintain private apparatus (drains, cables, ducts water and gas pipes) under, over, across, along or up the highway requires a Street Works Licence. They will require a Street Works Permit if they wish to connect and thereafter maintain a private sewer connection to a public sewer in the highway. The licence or permit is issued to the owner of the apparatus who is classed as an Undertaker for the purposes of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.  

The licensee or permit holder must comply with the relevant duties and responsibilities imposed by the Act, Regulations and Codes of Practice. This liability cannot be delegated to any other person or organisation.  

To apply for permission to, please email one of the following offices:

If you wish to form a vehicular access from your boundary to the carriageway of a public highway, you need to employ a contractor and obtain a permit from Cumbria Highways. 

To find out more please follow this link: Vehicular Access Requests

Contractors wishing to place portable traffic signals on the highway must apply for a permit. Please apply at least seven working days before your planned starting date. For an application form and standard conditions please email one of the following offices:

For emergency situations please telephone the Highways Hotline - 0300 303 2992.

Any person wishing to receive consent from the highway authority to temporarily deposit objects such as building materials or other things in the highway must apply for a permit. 

To apply for a permit you can: