Road space bookings

Overview

You need to book road space if you want to carry out activities which include, but are not limited to:

work that impacts pedestrians or traffic flow, such as building maintenance or tree surgery
placing a licensed obstruction on the road that needs traffic control, such as temporary signals for hoarding or scaffold
minor alterations to the existing road layout
highway work for new developments under a section 278 agreement
footway or cycleway closures (pavement running adjacent to the road) for private works
filming and event-related traffic management (which doesn't involve road closures)

We will help you coordinate your activities so they don't conflict with any other works or events.

The organisation responsible for the activity needs to apply for this licence.

Private roads

We can only consent to restrictions on public highways or public rights of way. For temporary control on private roads, please contact the landowner.

Public events

If you need to close a road or introduce other restrictions for a public event taking place on the road, please refer to events on the highway.

Apparatus in the highway

If you need to install or repair apparatus in the highway, please refer to our Section 50 licence information.

Road closures

If you need to close a road for works or any other activity, please refer to temporary traffic restrictions for road and street works.

Charges

You will be charged £25 for a road space booking.

You will also be charged an additional £1 for each additional Unique Street Reference Number (USRN) included in the license (for example, when road space bookings span multiple streets).

Please note that payment for a licence is due once applications have been assessed.

*USRNs are unique 8-digit identifiers assigned to every street, road, path, or cycle track in Great Britain. These numbers are used to help manage highways.

Conditions

Consent is given for road space bookings with the following conditions:

a. application and licence (general)

a full and complete application with supporting documentation must be submitted with at least 14 days' notice
where at least 14 days' notice cannot be given, reduced application periods must be pre-approved by the council but the council reserves the right to decline any requests
where emergency road space bookings are required, full details must be provided as soon as possible
there is no maximum duration for a licence, but the council reserves the right to challenge the duration of any requests should they be deemed to be excessive
any changes to the activity necessitating amendments to a licence are communicated to the council at the earliest opportunity
any changes to the activity necessitating the cancellation of an application are communicated to the council at the earliest opportunity (a refund may not be issued on any payments already made)
any changes to the activity which leads to a material impact on the highway and road users, are communicated to the council at the earliest opportunity
contact details for administrative use and for use in the event of safety issues should be provided and manned at all times or at a minimum when activities are in progress
any additional terms and conditions for network management needs, agreed on a case-by-case basis with the applicant
a licence can be rejected or revoked, at any time, and without notice:
- where the council needs to exercise network management duties in the event of unforeseen emergency situations elsewhere on the network
- should the council have evidence of breaches of conditions in isolation, or more wholesale systemic breaches of conditions over time, which have been warned for, but not addressed

b. general traffic management obligations

when traffic management is required, the applicant arranges for qualified operatives to supply, set up and, at very regular intervals, inspect and maintain all temporary traffic management and will cover all associated costs incurred
traffic management arrangements are to be proposed and arranged that they comply with codes of practice and regulations, and any deviation from agreed traffic management plans should be communicated to the council
traffic management must be removed and the site returned back to normal use prior to the end of the licence
the road space reference number given on an approved licence must be displayed at the site of works in a prominent position
there should be no impact on the access to properties, businesses and services

c. insurances and costs

where required, public liability insurance (minimum £5 million) along with street works accreditation must be held
promptly reimburse the council for any costs incurred arising from any claims made
responsibility for any damage to the highway, including its assets, determined to be as a result of activities undertaken using a road space booking, lies with the licence holder

Before you apply

Please ensure you obtain all the relevant permissions for the work you are undertaking.

Road space bookings allow for activities in the highway to be coordinated, but it does not give consent for the activity itself.

if you need to discuss tree surgery works, contact our Arboricultural Manager
if you are installing scaffold or hoarding that obstructs the road, you must also request the relevant licence
if you are conducting a filming exercise, check whether you need a filming permit
if you need to make minor alterations to the existing road layout, get approval from Dorset Highways first
if you are making alterations to the highway under a section 278 agreement to accommodate a new development, contact the Highway Development Team

Timescales

Complete applications must be received at least 14 days before the proposed licence start date.

Check road space availability

Roadworks, events and traffic management could be taking place at the same time as your activities. If this is the case, it can result in an application being refused.

Check our roadworks and events map for an indication of road space availability,

Incomplete or late applications could result in a delay with issuing a licence, a delay to the licence start date or even an application being declined.

How to apply

It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete an application.

When you apply, you will need to provide license details, details of the activities being undertaken and supporting documents - including:

a valid email address which will be used for correspondence, payment and the email address to which the license approval will be sent
the nature of the activities being undertaken and any restrictions to be introduced
timings and dates when the road space is required
the location of the activity and illustrative plans that clearly indicate the extent of the activities, the work zone, and the traffic management

Apply now

After you apply

You will receive an automated acknowledgement by email usually within 30 minutes. Please make note of the reference number provided which should be used in all correspondence related to the licence.

We aim to process all complete applications within five working days.

If you have applied for a road space booking and temporary traffic signals are required, refer to the temporary traffic signals licence and complete an application.

Payment

We will not request payment until we have assessed your application and are ready to approve your licence.

Should your application be approved, you will receive an email with the total amount payable and directions to make payment.

We offer the following methods of payment for this licence:

a secure payment facility to pay by credit or debit card over the phone
other methods when an applicant is unable to pay over the phone

If anything changes

If you need to update your application, your licence or cancel it altogether, at any time, you must let us know. Your acknowledgement email will tell you how to do this.