It is an offence to excavate the highway without lawful consent or authority from the local council.

 
Any private contractors who want to carry out roadwork excavations in the highway must apply for (and be granted) a licence before work starts.

The ‘highway’ includes carriageway, footway and verge. Carrying out such work without a licence is an offence and may result in prosecution. Those granted a Road Opening Licence become "undertakers" (for the purposes of  New Roads and Streetworks Act -NRSWA).  Because of this they take on responsibility for carrying out the duties and responsibilities imposed by the Act and its associated regulations and Codes of Practice.

Licences are issued for works such as sewer connections, utility installations, trial holes, road widening, new development junctions, re-surfacing works and boundary wall foundations.
If the correct procedures are not followed, local authorities can issue heavy fines for contractors not following the set procedures for applying for and closing out road space licences. 

Clandillon Site Services has extensive experience in applying for section 50, section 278, road opening and road closure licences. We already have close working relationships with local road space teams with all the South West's local authorities.  
Please get in touch if you would like us to manage your licence applications.