Scaffolding, hoarding, crane and container licence

About the construction equipment licence

To place certain building equipment on a public street or pavement, you need to apply for a licence from us. Construction equipment includes:

• containers
• cranes
• scaffolding
• site hoardings

A licence is usually valid for 1 calendar month.

If you need to extend the licence, contact us before it expires. Email us at transportation-admin@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.

You need separate licences for:

• scaffolding
• hoardings
• each crane and container

By law, you need to put up hoardings to:

• separate building works from the street
• ensure they're securely erected

If you do not do this, you could be fined up to £5,000 for non-compliance with a construction licence.

You do not need a licence for containers or cranes located:

• within a building site
• on other private land

Costs

Licence fee

Currently, licence fees per month are:

• scaffolding is £192
• hoarding is £192
• a crane is £434
• a container is £483

We review our licence fees every April.

Refundable deposit

You'll also need to pay a refundable deposit. We'll assess the amount when we visit the site.

Site inspection fee

When you apply, you'll also need to pay a non-refundable site inspection fee of £118.

Apply for a licence

You'll need to complete our online application form. In the form you need to provide:

• company name
• company address
• your name
• your phone number
• site address
• date the work will start
• duration of the work
• approximate height and length of the hoarding or scaffolding
• main dimensions of the hoardings, scaffolding, cranes or containers over the public highway
• approximate height, length and type of the building material
• approximate width and area of the materials over the public highway

You need to pay the site inspection fee by credit or debit card when you apply.

Processing your application

After you've applied and paid the site inspection fees, we'll process your application.

1. One of our inspectors will inspect the site and decide how much refundable deposit you need to pay to cover any damage that may be caused.
2. We'll contact to let you know the amount payable.
3. When we've received your deposit payment and licence fee, we'll issue you with your licence document.
4. When you've completed your building work, contact us again to let us know.
5. Our inspector will revisit and inspect your site.
6. If there's no damage to the street, we'll refund your deposit. But if there is damage, we'll deduct the cost of repairs from your deposit.

Conditions of the licence

We'll tell you all the conditions attached to the licence when we issue it.