Section 50 licences

Under the New Roads and Street Works Act (NRSWA), any private individual or company (not a statutory undertaker) must have a licence in order to install or maintain apparatus under the public highway.

For instance this might apply to:

• a house-owner who needs to repair their sewer as it runs under the highway to the main in the road
• a contractor or developer who wants new services into their site and prefer not to pay the utility companies to undertake these works
• owner of on- or off-highway assets that need supplies of some sort (e.g. advertising boards)
• or various other scenarios

A Section 50 licence can be complex to apply for, and as it effectively turns the applicant into a 'statutory undertaker', means that you will need someone who understands the intricacies of NRSWA, can advise you on best approaches, good practice and of risks, and who can manage the application processes end to end.

Typically we will:

• Submit full application
• Draw up and provide temporary traffic management plans (written and/or CAD drawings)
• Apply for other related licences or approvals (temporary traffic restrictions, temporary traffic signals, highways licences like crane, platform, etc)
• Undertake line-searches and plant protection enquiries on your behalf
• Help hire suitably qualified contractors or operatives
• Act as your site agent (fully qualified NRSWA supervisor) to ensure works are undertaken properly and within the requirements of the legislation and reinstated compliantly
• Manage the additional legal notification processes (works start, works stop, registration)
• Advise you on how to minimise risk and exposure to fines and penalties, and make sure things do not go wrong in the first place