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scaffolding safety guidelines

Section 169 Requires a Pavement Scaffolding Licence in England

Section 169 requires a pavement scaffolding licence in England. Use this practical checklist to prepare paperwork, meet 1.2m footway and insurance rules,...

The Extension Works 3 October 2026
Section 169 Requires a Pavement Scaffolding Licence in England

Section 169 Requires a Pavement Scaffolding Licence in England

Scaffolding occupying a residential pavement

Yes. Under Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980, a licence from the local highway authority is required before scaffolding can be erected on or over a public pavement in England. The scaffolding contractor, not the homeowner, normally holds the licence and must carry adequate public liability insurance. Skip this step and you risk fines, delays and a council that can force the scaffold down.

TL;DR:

  • Most scaffolding licences are issued to the contractor responsible for the structure, who must also carry appropriate public liability insurance of at least 5 to 10 million pounds.
  • Licence conditions typically require minimum pavement clear widths of 1.2 to 1.5 meters and the use of recognized design standards like TG20, BS EN 12810, and BS EN 12811.
  • The application process involves measuring pavement space, providing detailed drawings and safety plans, and submitting proof of insurance, with delays often caused by incomplete paperwork or late parking suspension requests.
  • Working without a licence or breaching licence conditions can result in substantial fines, scaffold removal orders, and repair costs for pavement damage, with councils actively enforcing these rules.
  • Prior to construction, owners should verify who holds the licence, ensures insurance cover meets requirements, and confirms the scaffold design is compliant, as these factors influence safety and legal compliance.
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Table of Contents

What the law and councils actually require

Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 gives the local highway authority power to licence any structure that sits on, or projects over, the highway, and a pavement counts as highway in law. Put up scaffolding over that strip of paving without permission and you have committed an offence, regardless of whether the work itself is perfectly competent. The licence holder takes on a duty to erect, maintain and remove the structure safely, to keep the pavement usable for pedestrians, and to comply with whatever conditions the council attaches.

Those conditions are rarely generic. Most highway authorities expect a minimum clear footway width of 1.2 metres so pedestrians, wheelchair users and parents with pushchairs can pass safely, rising to 1.5 metres on routes with heavier footfall, a requirement set out in guidance from the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Many councils also ask for a 450 millimetre set-back from the edge of the carriageway, keeping the structure clear of passing traffic and giving drivers and cyclists a margin of safety. These figures are not universal law, they are common licence conditions, so always confirm the exact numbers with the authority covering the job.

Scaffold pavement clearance measurements

Alongside spacing rules, councils increasingly point applicants towards recognised technical standards rather than leaving scaffold design to chance. The structural guidance published by the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation, known as TG20, and the British and European standards BS EN 12810 and BS EN 12811, set out how scaffolding should be designed, braced and loaded. Application guidance from Newham Council explicitly references these standards, and other authorities expect compliance even where it is not spelled out line by line. A scaffold that departs from a standard configuration, for instance one spanning a wide shopfront or supporting a loading platform, will usually need a bespoke design signed off by a competent engineer before the council will grant a licence.

Lighting, signing and protective gantries round out the typical condition list. Where a scaffold creates a pedestrian gantry, meaning people have to walk underneath it, councils generally require minimum headroom, lighting through the hours of darkness and debris netting to catch falling material. Hammersmith & Fulham’s guidance notes that some sites need a properly designed gantry rather than a standard tube-and-fitting cover, particularly where vehicle movements or heavy footfall raise the risk. None of this is optional extra care: it is the baseline the council checks before signing off an application, and missing any element is one of the quickest ways to see an application bounced back for amendment.

For homeowners, the practical takeaway is simple. The licence is not a formality that happens somewhere in the background while the contractor gets on with the job: it shapes exactly where the scaffold can stand, how wide the pavement must stay, and what safety features the structure needs from day one.

Who applies, who is responsible and insurance requirements

Licences under Section 169 are issued to the party responsible for the scaffolding, which in almost every case means the scaffolding company, not the homeowner commissioning the extension or renovation. Guidance from the London Borough of Sutton confirms that the licence sits with whoever manages the structure day to day, because that is the party best placed to meet inspection duties, keep the pavement safe and respond if something goes wrong. If a contractor suggests that you, the homeowner, should submit the application yourself, treat it as a warning sign rather than a convenience.

Insurance is the other non-negotiable. Councils want proof of public liability cover before they will grant a licence, and the figure varies by authority and by site risk. Hammersmith & Fulham’s published guidance cites a minimum of £10,000,000 of cover for scaffolding on its pavements, and reserves the right to ask for more where the location demands it, for example a busy high street or a site near a school. Other authorities set the bar lower, but £5,000,000 to £10,000,000 is a reasonable working range to expect. Ask your contractor for the insurance certificate directly rather than taking their word for it; a genuine policy document will show the insurer’s name, the cover limit and the expiry date.

Competence matters as much as paperwork. A scaffold that follows a standard TG20 configuration can usually be erected by a trained scaffolding team without a bespoke engineering design, but anything unusual, such as a long span, a loading bay, or a structure tied into an awkward façade, should carry its own calculations. Newham’s application criteria ask for supporting drawings precisely because councils need to see that the design matches the site, not just a generic template. Inspection records matter too: HSE guidance on scaffolds expects a competent person to check the structure before first use and at regular intervals afterwards, and councils may ask to see those logs if a complaint comes in or if the licence is renewed.

For homeowners, the questions are straightforward even if the detail behind them is technical: who is named on the licence, what level of insurance backs the job, and who signed off the design. Get clear answers before scaffolding goes up, not after.

How to prepare and submit a scaffolding licence application

A clean application moves faster through the council’s system and avoids the stop-start delays that push back the whole build programme. The scaffolding contractor should lead this process, but a homeowner who understands the steps can spot gaps before they become problems.

  1. Measure the pavement and carriageway so the contractor knows exactly how much clear width will remain once the scaffold is up, and whether the 1.2 metre or 1.5 metre minimum applies on that stretch.
  2. Check whether parking suspensions are needed for scaffold loading, deliveries or hoist positioning, and flag this early since suspensions often run on a separate approval track with their own lead time.
  3. Arrange a site meeting with the council if the job is complex, for example a corner plot, a narrow Victorian terrace pavement, or a site near a bus stop or pedestrian crossing.
  4. Prepare scaled plan and elevation drawings showing exact dimensions, set-back from the kerb, and how the scaffold relates to doors, windows and any street furniture.
  5. Write a short method statement covering how the scaffold will be erected, inspected and dismantled, and how pedestrians will be protected during each phase.
  6. Draw up a traffic and pedestrian management plan if the scaffold narrows the footway or requires a temporary diversion, including signage positions and any need for a banksman.
  7. Attach the current public liability insurance certificate, showing a cover level that meets or exceeds what the local authority specifies.
  8. Provide an emergency contact number for someone who can respond quickly if the scaffold is damaged, vandalised or affected by severe weather.
  9. Submit through the council’s preferred channel, which is increasingly an online portal but is still a downloadable PDF form in some areas, such as Newham’s published application form.
  10. Confirm who signs the agreement, since some councils require a formal signed licence agreement in addition to the application form before work can start.

Councils consistently reject or delay applications over the same handful of gaps: drawings that lack precise measurements, a traffic management plan that does not match the actual footway width, or an insurance certificate that has expired or sits below the required limit. Submitting everything in one complete package, rather than trickling documents in over several weeks, is the single biggest lever a contractor has over how quickly a licence comes through.

Typical fees, bonds and additional charges

Councils calculate scaffolding licence fees differently, and there is no single national rate, so budgeting for the full cost means understanding each component rather than assuming one flat figure. Many authorities charge per linear metre of pavement occupied per week or month, with a minimum charge that applies even to small sites, and separate schedules published by Hertfordshire County Council and various London boroughs show how much this can vary from one authority to the next.

On top of the core licence fee, expect a refundable bond. This exists to cover the cost of repairing the pavement if the scaffold’s base plates, ground shoes or wheel loading damage the surface during the licence period. The bond is returned once the council has inspected the pavement after removal and found it in the condition it was in before the scaffold went up, so it is worth photographing the site before work starts to avoid a dispute later. Wiltshire Council’s guidance recommends asking the contractor to show the bond arrangement in writing so there are no surprises on completion.

Parking suspensions, where the scaffold or its loading operations require bays to be kept clear, usually carry their own separate fee and sometimes their own separate application, rather than being folded into the scaffolding licence cost. Inspection fees and administration charges can also apply, particularly where the council sends an officer out to check the site before approving renewal.

Licences are issued for a set period, and most are renewable, but Section 74 of the Highways Act 1980 allows councils to levy overrun charges where a scaffold occupies the highway for longer than agreed without an approved extension. A job that drifts past schedule, which is common on extension projects where weather or supply delays push back the timetable, can end up costing more in licence fees than originally quoted if nobody applies for the extension in time. Build a buffer into the budget and flag any likely overrun to the council before the original licence expires rather than after.

Safety standards, inspections and ongoing site duties

Once scaffolding is up, the legal obligations do not stop at the licence. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require that scaffolding is erected, altered and dismantled only by people with the training to do it safely, and that the structure is inspected regularly throughout its life on site. HSE guidance on scaffolds sets out that a competent person should check the scaffold before it is first used, at intervals of no more than seven days after that, and again after any event likely to affect its safety, such as a storm, a vehicle strike or reports of interference.

These inspections are not a paperwork exercise for its own sake. A scaffold standing over a public pavement is exposed to weather, passing traffic and, occasionally, people trying to climb it, so the seven-day rule exists to catch loosened couplers, shifted boards or damaged ties before they become a hazard to someone walking underneath. Councils may ask to see inspection records during the licence period, particularly if a complaint is raised or if the licence comes up for renewal.

Where a scaffold creates a gantry over the pavement, meaning pedestrians pass directly beneath it, extra rules apply. Minimum headroom has to be maintained so nobody has to duck, lighting is generally required through the hours of darkness so the gantry is visible and safe to walk through, and debris netting is standard practice to stop tools, dust or loose material falling onto people below. HSE guidance is explicit that scaffolding should never be erected or dismantled directly over pedestrians on a busy pavement, and that a temporary footpath closure should be considered wherever the risk of falling material is significant. Ties into the building itself also need enough clearance to avoid blocking windows, doors or fire escape routes, something that matters particularly on terraced housing where pavements sit close to the building line.

Pedestrian walking beneath lit scaffold gantry

For a homeowner, the practical point is that safety compliance does not end once the licence is granted. A reputable contractor will keep inspection logs as a matter of course and will be able to produce them on request, which is itself a useful way to judge whether the firm running your job takes the seven-day rule seriously or treats it as an afterthought.

Processing times, common causes of delay and how to avoid them

Councils do not process scaffolding licence applications on a single, fixed timetable. Some authorities turn around a straightforward application in around five working days, while others take up to three weeks or longer, particularly where the site needs a visit or where the application lands during a busy period. Given that spread, the only reliable approach is to start the process well before the scaffold is due up and to treat the slower end of the range as the one to plan around.

Most delays have nothing to do with the scaffold design itself and everything to do with incomplete paperwork. Missing or unscaled drawings are the most common hold-up, closely followed by a traffic or pedestrian management plan that does not reflect the actual pavement width, which forces the council to send the application back for correction. Parking suspensions requested too late in the process can also stall a job, since many councils run suspensions through a separate approval track with its own notice period, often several weeks. Incomplete insurance details, such as a certificate that has lapsed or shows a cover limit below what the council specifies, round out the usual list of rejections.

The fix is largely procedural rather than technical. Submit the full set of documents in one go rather than piecemeal, confirm the exact pedestrian width and set-back requirements for that specific pavement before drawing anything up, and get the parking suspension request moving at the same time as the scaffolding application rather than afterwards. It is also worth asking the local authority directly what its current processing time looks like, since published guidance can lag behind actual council workload, and a quick phone call can save weeks of guesswork.

Enforcement, penalties and what councils can do if licence terms are breached

Working without a licence, or breaching the conditions attached to one, carries real consequences under Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980. The offence is punishable by a fine up to level 5 on the standard scale, and in more serious or repeated cases a council can pursue prosecution rather than simply issuing a penalty notice. Beyond the fine, the council has the power to require the scaffold’s immediate removal, which can stop a build project in its tracks until a proper licence is in place.

Financial exposure does not end with the fine either. If a scaffold damages the pavement, whether through base plate pressure, vehicle movement around the site, or poor reinstatement once the structure comes down, the council can recover repair costs from the licensee directly, drawing on the refundable bond where one was lodged and pursuing the shortfall if the damage exceeds it. That liability sits with the licence holder, reinforcing why it matters that the scaffolding company, not the homeowner, is the one named on the paperwork.

If you suspect work is proceeding without a licence, or that agreed conditions such as pedestrian width or lighting are being ignored, the practical first step is to contact the local highways office directly and describe what you have observed. Photograph the scaffold, the pavement width available to pedestrians, and any obvious hazard such as a blocked gantry or missing netting, since councils act faster on reports backed by clear evidence than on a vague complaint.

Practical checklist: questions to ask your scaffolder and red flags

Vetting a scaffolding contractor before work starts is the most effective way to avoid licence problems later, and it takes only a short conversation to separate a compliant firm from a risky one.

  • Ask directly who will apply for and hold the pavement licence, since the answer should always be the scaffolding company, never you.
  • Request written proof of public liability insurance showing a cover level that meets the council’s stated minimum, not just a verbal assurance.
  • Ask whether the scaffold design follows NASC TG20 or an equivalent recognised standard, and whether a bespoke design is needed for your site.
  • Ask what the inspection schedule will be and whether you can see a copy of the inspection log once work is under way.
  • Request a written cost breakdown that separates the council licence fee, the refundable bond, any parking suspension charge and the scaffold hire itself.

A few responses should raise immediate concern. A contractor who asks you to submit the licence application personally is passing you a legal responsibility that should sit with them. One who refuses to produce an insurance certificate or gets vague about cover limits is avoiding a basic check that any legitimate firm handles routinely. Equally, a contractor with no clear timeline for the licence application, or no answer when asked about inspection records, is unlikely to be managing the compliance side of the job with any rigour.

Pro Tip: Ask to see a previous council licence the contractor has held on a similar street, since a firm that has worked with your local authority before will usually know its specific conditions and processing quirks.

How The Extension Works handles permits when delivering an extension

Scaffolding licences are one small piece of a much larger coordination job on any extension project, sitting alongside planning permission, building control sign-off and the sequencing of trades on site. When managing a single-storey rear extension, the coordination of approvals is handled directly rather than leaving the homeowner to chase separate approvals from separate parties.

That means liaising with the scaffolding contractor on the licence application, checking it against the local authority’s specific conditions, and tracking renewal dates if a project runs longer than originally planned. The same team is already managing building regulations compliance and, where relevant, skip permits for the same site, so the various highway and council approvals move through together rather than as separate threads a homeowner has to keep track of individually.

For homeowners, the practical benefit is fewer phone calls and fewer moments of uncertainty about who is responsible for what. Where a project depends on a planning route such as prior approval, keeping the scaffolding timeline aligned with the wider planning programme matters, since a licence delay on the pavement can push back the whole build schedule if nobody is watching both at once.

— Esskay

An alternative option worth knowing about

If reading through licence conditions, insurance minimums and council fee schedules sounds like more administration than you want to take on, there is another way to approach the whole project. The Extension Works offers a managed single-storey rear extension service that brings design, planning, and construction together under one team, with a fixed VAT-inclusive price agreed up front and live 3D modelling so you can see the extension before a single brick is laid.

The Extension Works

We are not a scaffolding supplier, and this is not a substitute for the contractor who will actually erect the structure on your pavement. What we do instead is manage the project around that work, including liaison with the trades and councils involved, so permit coordination becomes one part of a service rather than a separate job you have to run yourself.

  • Get an instant online quote for your rear extension before committing to anything.
  • See how the process works, including booking, from the how it works page, where a £499 one-off booking fee secures your project slot.
  • Start with a single-storey rear extension quote to see fixed pricing and 3D modelling for your own home.

If you are considering a rear extension, getting a quote costs nothing and gives you a clear fixed price to compare against a traditional build.

Sources

The rules covering pavement scaffolding sit across a handful of primary sources, and checking the original wording is worth the few minutes it takes before you sign anything.

Always check your own local highway authority’s current page for exact fees and processing instructions, since these details vary and change more often than the underlying law.

FAQ

Do I need a pavement licence for scaffolding?

Yes, under Section 169 of the Highways Act 1980 a licence is required to place scaffolding on or over a public pavement in England. The licence is normally held by the scaffolding contractor rather than the homeowner, and working without one risks fines and enforcement action.

How much do scaffolders earn in the UK per hour?

This article does not cover scaffolder pay rates, and no figure for hourly earnings appears in the sources used here. For current wage information, a trade body or recruitment source focused on the scaffolding sector would be a better starting point than a licensing guide.

What is type 3 and type 4 scaffolding?

Definitions of scaffold types vary across guidance documents and are not covered in the licensing sources used for this article. A scaffolding contractor or the relevant NASC technical guidance is the right place to confirm a specific classification for your job.