Apply for a licence to excavate the highway

You need permission from the council under Section 50 or Section 171 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to excavate a public highway or pavement.

It is the responsibility of the householder or client, in conjunction with the builder or contractor, to obtain a licence to excavate the highway or pavement. It is normally the builder or contractor who applies for the excavation licence.

If you're a builder or contractor 

You will need: 

• Highway Permission from the Council by completing the application pack further down this page
• Public Liability insurance cover of minimum £5,000,000
• Street Works Accreditation under the New Roads and Streetworks Act 1991

Types of licence

To carry out excavation works on a highway or pavement, you must be in possession of a Section 50 or Section 171 licence.

The type of licence you need depends on whether you are using apparatus.

What is apparatus? 

Apparatus can be described in the following ways:  

• a piece of equipment used for a specific purpose, like water pipes, electricity cables or sewage pipes  
• a piece of equipment used to install another item, like a duct laid for cable  
• a piece of equipment used to access another, like a manhole to access a sewer

Section 50

A Section 50 licence is normally granted for excavation works involving apparatus.

You will need a Section 50 licence if you are excavating a highway or pavement for any of the following reasons:  

• Installing new apparatus  
• Inspecting apparatus  
• Maintaining apparatus  
• Adjusting or altering apparatus 
• Repairing apparatus  
• Renewing apparatus

Section 171

A Section 171 license is normally granted for smaller scale excavations in highways or pavements. This sort of excavation could be for trial holes or domestic vehicular access less than 10m in width.

Warning If you are installing a dropped kerb, you will need a Section 171 licence in addition to completing a dropped kerb application.

Fees

The fee you will be required to pay will depend on the type of licence you require and the type of excavation you have planned.                                                                              

Section 50

Type of Section 50 licence	Fees
Laying new apparatus	£649.43
Repair existing apparatus	£471.55

Warning Please note, any retrospective Section 50 applications will be charged an additional fee of £166.43

Section 171 fees

If you need a Section 171 licence to excavate a highway or pavement, you will be charged £344.65

Before you apply

Before you complete the application, you will need to have prepared the following: 

• the address of proposed location of excavation  
• confirmed dates of proposed work  
• current public liability insurance cover with a £5 million indemnity limit.

Warning You must submit your application with at least 7 working days' notice. On traffic sensitive roads, we require 28 days' notice.

Apply

Download and complete the relevant form from the options below to apply to excavate the highway:

Section 50 application form

Section 171 application form

Section 171, 179 and 180 application form

What happens next

Once you have submitted your application, the Highways team will decide if your application is successful or not. An officer may need to arrange a site meeting to discuss the proposed location of the work, type of work and dates.