Apply for a licence to dig up the road

A section 50 excavation licence is required by anyone other than a statutory authority who wants to undertake work to a highway, relating to the installation or maintenance of apparatus. For example, cables, pipes and ducts.

Who needs a licence

Excavations to install apparatus or to inspect, maintain, adjust, repair, alter, renew, or move the apparatus will require a section 50 excavation licence. Work can only be carried out by a competent contractor.

The section 50 excavation licence can only be processed after a section 50 enabling licence has been approved and signed.

Who can apply

A company or contractor will apply for permission to excavate the highway, often on behalf of a land or property owner. This is because it is the applicant who will be required to comply with and accept the licence conditions.

Before you apply

When applying for a section 50 excavation licence it is a requirement that;

The contractor shall hold £10 million public liability insurance
The contractor shall comply with the accreditation requirements under the NRSWA 1991 Codes of Practice

To enable us to process your application please upload the following documentation;

A 1:500 plan showing location and extent of excavation
Signing and guarding proposals
Traffic management plan (if required by the County council or its Agent)
Planning approval (if required by the County Council or its Agent)

Note: Failure to provide appropriate supporting documentation will delay the processing of your application.

Timescales

The applicant should allow up to 28 days between the date of application and the date on which the consent is intended to commence. No work should begin before approval of the application has been issued.

Tacit consent does not apply

Due to safety legislation your application is not approved until you are issued with an Approval Notice from us.

Conditions of licence

Section 50 & Schedule 3 of New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

Conditions of licence

The applicant shall not carry out any excavation or other works in the highway except in accordance with a plan, to be submitted with this application, and approved by the Highway Authority. The licensee shall ensure that persons carrying out the work are qualified and competent. For the purposes of carrying out the works, the contractor shall comply with the Codes of Practice for Training issued under the New Roads & Street Works Act 1991. Specifically the contractors’ supervisor will be trained and accredited to the requirements of the Codes of Practice
a) The Licensee shall indemnify the County Council pursuant to s82 New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and Paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 of the New Roads and Street Works Act, and in addition shall indemnify the County Council against all liability, loss, claim or proceeding whatsoever arising under statute or common law in respect of the placing, retaining, inspecting, maintaining, adjusting, repairing, altering, renewing or removing of its apparatus on or under the highway
b) The applicant shall hold public liability insurance in an amount not less than £10 million in respect of each and every occurrence or series of occurrences caused by or attributable to any event giving rise to a claim
c) The applicant shall hold such insurance cover as set out at 7(b) for the duration of the works and until the County Council resumes responsibility for maintenance of the highway in accordance with Condition 14
a) The applicant shall regulate the works so as to minimise obstruction to vehicular and pedestrian traffic and shall guard the works in accordance with Chapter 8 of the Traffic Signs Manual published by the HMSO
b) The applicant shall meet the cost of providing temporary traffic lights where they are required as a result of their works. Where traffic diversions are required, the Licensee shall meet the cost of strengthening the highway or repairing damage to the highway as a result of traffic diverted by the street works. Such costs are to be determined by the County Council
The applicant shall not interfere with any drain, culvert, gully, bridge, wall or other structure without the express and specific consent of the Highway Authority
No part of the highway may be closed, at any time, without the express and specific consent of the Highway Authority
a) The issue of a licence to make a temporary excavation in the highway does not authorise the Licensee to interfere with apparatus already existing in the street. At all times access must be maintained to any apparatus within the highway
b) The issue of a licence does not dispense the licensee from obtaining any other consent, licence or permission which may be required for their works. The Licensee is responsible for identifying and obtaining any necessary consents, licences or permissions from any third parties or other authorities having an interest in the works or apparatus prior to commencing their works
a) The Highway Authority will raise any Streetworks permit required in relation to the proposed works. The Licensee shall notify all relevant utility companies of their intentions, and obtain any location of other apparatus and details of any diversionary works that may be needed. The Highway Authority will register the licensees works on the streetworks register in accordance with the requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991
b) The Licensee is not permitted to commence works in advance of the period agreed on the licence, unless the express and specific permission of the Highway Authority has been sought and obtained
The Licensee shall be responsible for carrying out any works required by a Statutory Undertaker in their response to a notice, or subsequently, to protect apparatus. Prior to the commencement of any works, the Licensee shall determine the precise location of any Statutory Undertaker’s plant. The Licensee shall allow for the notification process when programming their work
If the Highway Authority consent to the proposed works, a licence will be issued by the Highway Authority. (Works shall not commence until this licence is approved and issued)
An applicant who contravenes any condition or fails to perform the statutory duties imposed by sections 171(4) or 171(5) Highways Act 1980 is guilty of an offence and will be prosecuted by the Highway Authority. In addition, and pursuant to section 171(7) Highways Act 1980, where an offence has been committed the Highway Authority may remove the obstruction or fill in the excavation and recover the expenses reasonably incurred in doing so from the person convicted
The applicant shall meet the costs incurred by the Highway Authority in carrying out any inspections deemed necessary by the Highway Authority under s72(2) New Roads and Street Works Act 1991
In the event of the works being cancelled by the applicant after the application form has been submitted an administration fee will be charged to the applicant to cover administrative costs
Reinstatement of the works shall be carried out as soon as is reasonable practicable and in accordance with the specification provided by the Highway Authority. Any excavation shall be at least temporarily reinstated with bitumen macadam before removing any signing and barriers. Limestone is not permitted in the wearing course. Any temporary reinstatement shall be agreed with the Highway Authority
During the course of the works and following reinstatement, the area shall be left in a clean and tidy condition to the satisfaction of the Highway Authority
All reinstatements shall comply with the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways (SRoH) that is current at the time of the works. Any deviation from this specification must be agreed by the County Council
The applicant shall keep the area of the works lit from 30 minutes before sunset to 30 minutes after sunrise
Within two days of completion of the works the applicant shall give written notice to the Highway Authority. This shall be done by way of the ‘closing notice’ provided by the Highway Authority
The date and time when the Highway Authority will resume responsibility for maintenance of the highway works, distinct from the apparatus, will normally be two years from the proper date of the completion of the works. Until the Highway Authority assume responsibility for maintenance of the works the applicant shall be responsible for any claims arising from the work or any necessary maintenance works and associated costs. The Highway Authority shall determine any necessary works. If, after the agreed maintenance period, the reinstatement fails and the Highways Authority can prove that the reinstatement was not compliant with the original specification, then the licensee will be responsible for any necessary maintenance works
Excavation works within Root Protection Areas (as defined within BS5837) must be undertaken either by hand-digging or compressed air excavation and must be supervised by the applicants arboriculturist (arboriculturist as defined within BS5837)
All roots greater than 25mm in diameter must be retained and worked around unless otherwise agreed with the applicants arboriculturist
The principles of the National Joint Utilities Group (NJUG) Volume 4 guidance must be adhered to
The canopy and Root Protection Area of trees and shrubs must be protected with fencing (as per BS5837)
Access onto unsurfaced ground within the Root Protection Area must be via ground protection (as per BS5837)
Failure to adhere to use of ground protection within RPAs MUST be mitigated by use of a decompaction tool e.g. TerraVent/AirSpade/APEX VOGT GeoInjector (or similar)
And, should tree removal be required/become necessary, liaison with Hampshire County Council’s Arboricultural Section is required. Hampshire County Council as the Highway Authority in Hampshire, will either refuse permission or will require to be compensated for the loss of highway tree assets. The Capital Asset Value of Amenity Trees (CAVAT) methodology will be used as the basis for the valuation assessment
Unless otherwise agreed with the County Council, upon completion of the works the licence holder is required to provide an as-built plan of the location of the apparatus and corresponding reinstatement. This will be in accordance with the ‘code of practice for recording of underground apparatus in streets’
The location of apparatus should be measured to an accuracy of plus or minus 300millimetres on the ground, and recorded at a minimum accuracy of plus or minus 500 mm of the actual position of the plant as per this code of practice. The format of the plan shall be an electronic pdf or GIS compatible file.
Failure to supply a plan in accordance with this condition may result in the licence being withdrawn and the apparatus removed at the cost of the licence holder

Note

‘The Highway’ includes the carriageway, footway and any verge
If the applicant objects to these conditions or a refusal by the Highway Authority, or its Agent, to approve a licence, then an appeal may be made to the Secretary of State

The approval process

Section.50 is generally appropriate for lateral connections only. Accordingly licences will not generally be approved for longitudinal apparatus (apparatus running along the road) as there are significant risks to future maintenance from such apparatus.

On receipt of your application, an Engineer will visit the site to determine its suitability.

Be advised, due to the nature of this type of licence, applications can take up to 28 days to process.

Trenchless operations

Any application where a form of trenchless construction (directional drilling and thrust boring) is necessary will require additional information to be supplied upon submission.

Please read and consider the below document before submitting the application. Failure to supply the necessary information will delay your application.

Trenchless Operations in the public Highway

Charges

£454
per licence

You will receive an automated receipt when paying for this service. No VAT is charged as this is a non-business service and the VAT is classed as ‘out-of-scope’. However, should it be required for your records, Hampshire County Council’s VAT number is GB 189 4068 22.

Any costs associated with works necessary to public utilities' supply service will be the responsibility of the licensee.

Apply

If you're happy you understand the conditions and charges.

Upon application you will be required to pay the fee. Please have your payment details ready before submitting your application.

Apply for section 50 excavation licence

Privacy Notice

Highways Act 1980 and New Roads and Street Works Act - licences and consents

Hampshire County Council collects information about you for in order to process your request for service.
We will use the information to process your request and for administration and statistical purposes.
The legal basis for our use of this information is where it is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest in the exercise of official authority vested in the County Council.
Your records will be held by us for a specified length of time, depending on the type of record and type of service we provide to you. Some of these time periods are specified by law. However, were there is no relevant legislation, the times given are agreed by the County Council's Records Management Service.
You have some legal rights in respect of the personal information we collect from you. Please see our Data Protection web page for further details
You can contact the County Council's Data Protection Officer at [email protected].

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner's Office.