Highway licences and permits

If you want to place an object on or around a road or pavement, you must apply for the correct licence or permit. This includes:

  • skips or scaffolding
  • building materials
  • planters
  • signs
  • hedges and overhanging trees
  • structures including posts and rocks.

Applying for a highway licence or permit

Licences are not usually needed for public land or council owned property, only public roads and pavements. They are usually issued to individuals or companies which have public liability insurance of at least £10 million.

For further information or to apply for a highway licence or permit, speak to our contact centre.

Reporting an obstruction on a road or pavement

As the highway authority, we have a duty to make sure unauthorised obstructions on the roads or pavements that we are responsible for are removed. It is an offence to unlawfully:

  • obstruct movement along a highway
  • assume ownership of (encroach upon) part of a highway.
To report a problem on a road or pavement, please use our Report a fault service or speak to our contact centre.