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Placing building materials on a public road

When you need a building materials licence

If you want to place building materials on any part of a public road or footpath, you need to apply to us for a licence.

The licence is usually valid for 4 weeks. To extend this period, you need to contact us before the licence expires. Email transportation-admin@royalgreenwich.gov.uk or phone 020 8921 6600.

If possible, place building materials on private land. If you do this, you do not usually need a licence.

How to apply for a licence

Apply for a licence online

You will need to tell us:

  • company name
  • company address
  • your name
  • your phone number
  • site address
  • date the work will start
  • duration of the work

Costs

You will need to pay a non-refundable pre and post site inspection fee of £79 when you make your application.

From 28 July 2025 to 31 March 2026, the fee for each licence is £191.

You will also need to pay a refundable deposit (terms and conditions apply).

We review licence costs yearly in April. 

After you've applied

After you've submitted your application and paid the inspection fee, the following process applies:.

  1. One of our inspectors will inspect the location and decide how much refundable deposit you need to pay to cover any damage that may be caused.
  2. We'll call to let you know the amount payable.
  3. You pay your deposit and licence fee in advance by cash, cheque, credit or debit card.
  4. When we've received your payment we'll issue you with a licence number.
  5. When you've completed your building work, contact us again to let us know.
  6. Our inspector will revisit and inspect your site.
  7. If there's no damaged to the highway, we'll refund your deposit.

Conditions of the licence

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

Conditions include

  • a single licence allows storage of materials not exceeding 3 metres long, 1.5 metres wide and 1 metre high (consult us if larger quantities are involved)
  • materials placed in, or partly on, the road require at least 4 traffic cones on the approach side to guide traffic past the storage area
  • flashing amber road danger lamps must be placed between each cone to indicate the area of the site during hours of darkness, in poor daytime visibility and in bad weather
  • if our contractors are called out to the site to make it safe, we will charge you for this
  • building materials placed on the highway must not obstruct or interfere with the drainage of the street or with any apparatus of the public utility companies