Every skip that is placed on the highway must have a licence which is issued by the local Authority. If a skip is placed on private land it will not require a licence from the Council.

Only owners of a skip can apply for a licence so in most cases the licence is obtained by the skip hire company.  A licence covers a 28 day period.

If you would like to apply for a skip licence please complete and return the skip licence application form. This is available as a Word document or PDF.

If you are a member of the public looking to hire a skip you will need to contact a skip hire company. Whilst the skip hire company is responsible for obtaining the correct licence you should ensure that this has been done and that the licence covers the period of time you have hired the skip for.

The process

Please be aware that access restrictions are now in place for specific streets in Bath City centre to allow for social distancing guidelines to be adhered to.  Further information on these initiatives can be found on our traffic measures page. (If you do not require access to one of these specific streets, please go to the normal application process below).

You will need to provide at least 1 hours’ notice of your arrival by phoning the CCTV Team on 01225 477447.  In addition, you will need to provide the following information to enable appropriate checks to be carried out:

• Name of contractor and operative
• Vehicle registration
• Name/ address/ telephone number of the applicant

Vehicles will need to be liveried and the operative will require suitable ID.
Either hard or electronic copy of the license will need to be produced on site for checking.  Failure to do so will result in access refusal.

For Lower Borough Walls access, drivers will need to approach the rising bollard and speak to one of the CCTV operators via the intercom on the communications pillar.  Once license details have been checked, access will be permitted.

The process for placing a skip on the public highway is as follows:

1. Complete and return a skip licence application form to network_licences@bathnes.gov.uk
2. Include a current copy of your public liability insurance cover, which must be for a minimum of £5 million
3. For skips required with over 5 working days notice an administration fee of £69 should be paid using our portal.  For skips required with under 5 working days notice an administration fee of £99 should be paid using our portal.
4. You must include up-to-date contact details. Once we have received the application we will contact you to provide details of how to pay online (we are unable to take payments over the telephone).
5. On receipt of the completed application and the required payment a Highways Inspector will check the proposed location for the skip
6. The licence is subsequently returned to the applicant, "permission granted" or "not granted" as appropriate
7. The skip must not be placed (dropped) prior to the agreed placement date. If an on-street parking bay is being used, a suspension will need to be arranged separately with Parking Services by the applicant on 01225 477133/ parking_services@bathnes.gov.uk 
8. No skip can be placed on the public highway without written permission from this Council