Building materials

Consent from Bromley Council is required to deposit building materials or rubbish on a public highway. This permission is given by granting a temporary highway licence.

Any building materials found on a Bromley highway that are:

Unlicenced
Placed on the highway in contravention of the licence conditions

Will result in enforcement action being taken against the responsible person/applicant which may include a fine and/or the seizure/removal of the materials in question.

The responsibility for obtaining and following all regulations and fulfilling the conditions of the licence is the sole responsibility of the applicant.

When do I need a licence?

You will require a temporary highway licence from Bromley Council for any building materials that are on one of the following for any period of time:

Any public highway over which Bromley Council has authority and maintains at the public expense.

You will not require a licence for materials on:

Any unadopted highway not maintained at the public expense, however materials should be placed securely and with minimal disruption as we still have powers to enforce against obstruction.
Private roads where public access is restricted or controlled.

Transport for London is responsible for licensing any skip on a TfL Red Route within the borough, which are:

The A21 (starts on the borough Boundary with Lewisham on London Road, and comprises Tweedy Road, Kentish Way, Masons Hill, Bromley Common, Hastings Road, Farnborough Common, Farnborough Way and Sevenoaks Road before finishing within the borough at Hewitts Roundabout)
The A232 (starts on the borough boundary with Croydon at Wickham Road and comprises West Wickham High Street, Glebe Way and Croydon Road before meeting the A21 at Farnborough Common)

All enquiries that relate to these locations should therefore be redirected to TfL - highway licences

Will I require additional consent?

There are occasions when you may require either additional consent in order to be able to place the building materials on the highway:

If you wish to place the materials in any restricted parking bays, including permit bays, loading bays, short stay parking bays, pay and display bays, and car parks you will also need to apply to suspend the parking bay in question for the duration of the licence. Suspensions are not required for a free parking bay.
If the materials are linked to any connected highway works with a roadworks permit a temporary highway licence is only required if the materials are to be placed outside of the agreed works area.

Licence conditions

Once your application has been approved, you will be issued with a licence that will contain conditions to ensure that other highway users are safeguarded while the materials are in-situ.

We reserve the right to add extra conditions depending upon the location and nature of the materials. If this applies to your application they will be listed under Special Conditions on the licence.

Cost/renewal of licence

A materials licence costs £39 and is valid for a two week period. Please allow two working days for your application to be processed. Any extension or renewal of the licence will require a new application which will be treated in exactly the same way as the first.

If you wish to extend/renew your licence, please ensure that you allow the council the two working days in order to process the application in good time before you wish the licence to start.

The £39 covers the licencing of the building materials to be on the highway legally. Where additional consent is required (such as the suspension of a parking bay) there may be extra costs, which will be outlined as part of the consent process.

Apply

Complete our materials licence application form

Appeal a refused licence

Anyone who believes they have been unfairly refused a temporary highway licence can appeal.

Appeal a refused temporary highway licence

Data protection and privacy

For information on how we will use, process and store your personal data please see our privacy notice.