1 Overview
A section 50 licence is needed for apparatus in the highway. It applies when it is:
- placed
- inspected maintained and repaired
- adjusted or moved
- removed
Who can apply
Contractors conducting the works. We can only approve section 50 applications to the contractor acting on behalf of the owner of apparatus.
Guidance
The documents below will help you understand the requirements of a street works licence application. Please read the ‘Important notes’ document carefully.
The cost for a Section 50 licence is £762 per road or per 200m of excavation. The full cost will be verified upon receipt of the application.
If you have any queries about this application, please contact the streetworks team, quoting your application reference:
Supporting documents
2 Choose a contractor
It is important that you select a contractor who is fully conversant with the requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 to assist you in completing the necessary forms.
For contractors who continually disregard this legislation, steps will be taken to prohibit them from working within West Sussex.
You need to be aware that the noticing legislation changed for working on the highway in April 2008. You need to be familiar with the changes as affected by the Traffic Management Act 2004. There are significant financial penalties for failure to abide by them.
Authority to open the highway will be granted pursuant to Section 50 and Schedule 3 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.
3 Application process
You need to let us know as early as possible when you wish to start an application.
To apply for a licence, applicants must email highwayslicensing@westsussex.gov.uk with the following information. To begin with, you need to provide:
- the full address details of your company
- the full address details of the property that is benefitting from the new apparatus
- either a Section 106 letter from the utility granting permission to connect, or a Section 104 letter confirming the utility will adopt the new foul water connection
- a full works description and confirmation of adoption by the relevant utility in the form of letter or email if the works are not for a new water connection
We will then send you a full Section 50 application pack and your unique reference number. When you have successfully completed the pack and returned it to us, we will request an invoice to be sent. You will receive a draft copy of the licence to sign and return. We as the authority will then sign the licence and issue you with the final copy, signed by both parties.
We will then send you the 'Part N' to book the road space. This needs to be completed with the dates you wish to undertake the work. Be aware that if a road closure is required to complete these works, WSCC require a minimum of 12 weeks’ notice.
This will be reviewed and coordinated by the WSCC Streetworks team.
Once the dates for the works have been agreed by WSCC, you will receive a letter of consent to excavate the highway in accordance with the requested dates. Any excavation undertaken before the letter of consent is received is considered to be an illegal excavation and you will be liable for prosecution.
Important note
All correspondence relating to Section 50s must be sent to highwayslicensing@westsussex.gov.uk. Any correspondence sent to individual members of the Streetworks team's personal email addresses will be deleted and deemed as not received. The county council will not be responsible for any fines or charges you may receive for failure to comply with the above.