You must obtain a licence to carry out private street works under Section 50 of the New Roads and Street Works Act ('NRSWA').
See guidance on this licence for all applicants.
If, as a result of carrying out a repair or working on existing apparatus, you need to install new additional apparatus, you must apply for a licence to.
If you want to do work that will affect a public sewer, you must ask the sewer authority before giving us notice.
Works undertaken by a Statutory Undertaker, which includes utility companies, do not normally require a section 50 licence as these works are authorised through the Dorset Council Permit Scheme.
The minimum fee for this licence is £390, which includes:
Fees apply per application.
There is also an additional charge of £50 where excavations are deeper than 1.5 metres.
You may not be entitled to a refund if you cancel a licence after authorisation has already started or had concluded.
Licences can be requested and processed simultaneously, but you must request other consents separately: if you need to close roads to undertake your work safely, then you must also apply for temporary traffic restrictions for road and street works - you must give 3 months notice for this request
Complete applications must be received at least one month before the proposed licence start date.
If repair works are urgent, please contact the Traffic Team to discuss your requirements.
You should obtain an extent of Highway maintained at public expense, before applying. Section 50 licences are only applicable to public roads, pavements paths and verges.
(Works on private land must be agreed with the land owner).
We will coordinate works approved through this licence around other works and activities.
Check our roadworks and events map for an indication of road space availability.
You will need to arrange your own traffic management.
It should comply with the Safety Code of Practice. Further guidance on safe working on highways, including for some situations not covered by this code, is available in chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual.
It should take no more than 20 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:
You can now complete applications digitally if your device supports form field entries contained in the document available to download.
Please email completed applications with all essential documents to [email protected].
If you require this document in an alternative format, please email [email protected].
When you send your application and documents, you should receive an automated acknowledgement confirming receipt.
We aim to start assessing most applications within 5 days of receipt, but due to the nature of these requests, we review applications based on licence start dates - not necessarily by the date they are received.
Once your application has been assessed, we will contact you by telephone to take payment by credit or debit card. This is the recommended method of payment, secure and reduces administration and handling costs. You will receive an electronic receipt for your records.
We won’t be able to issue a licence until payment is settled.
We can agree alternative payment methods if phone payment by credit or debit card is not possible. To keep administration and handling costs to a minimum, we do not raise invoices for this service.
If you need to update your application, your licence or cancel it altogether, at any time, you must let us know. Please email [email protected].
You'll receive a licence approval document which will tell you more about the conditions applicable to your licence.
You'll be advised how to notify the council when works commence and when they've finished.
There are other stages to the licence described in the following sections.
Following the main works, requirements of 'NRSWA' apply in respect of reinstatement of the highway.
You must let us know reinstatement details within 10 working days of completing work.
Reinstatement must be carried out in accordance with the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways (SROH), published by HMSO on behalf of the Department for Transport.
The reinstatement must be guaranteed for a period of two years from the completion of the works (or three years for deep excavations), and is subject to inspections assessing compliance across several areas. The guarantee period begins upon receipt of a valid SWL5 document.
When you return the notification, please provide photographic evidence of finished reinstatements.
You can now complete applications digitally if your device supports form field entries contained in the document available to download.
Please email completed notification with photographs of reinstatements to [email protected].
If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact [email protected].
You must let us know details of any waste transfer within 10 working days of completing work, alongside registration of reinstatement.
You can now complete applications digitally if your device supports form field entries contained in the document available to download.
Please email completed notification to [email protected].
If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact [email protected].
