Consent for permission to obstruct the highway

Special notes

  1. If you are seeking permission to place tables and chairs in the public highway for the consumption of food and drink, you need to apply for a pavement licence.
  2. Applications for consent to obstruct the highway under the Highways Act 1980 are non-refundable. Please ensure you have read our street scene policy and guidance notes - applications which do not adhere to this policy may be rejected by a licensing officer unless exceptional circumstances can be demonstrated.

Introduction

You need permission under the Highways Act 1980 to place an object on the public highway that will cause an obstruction (other than tables and chairs for the consumption of food and drink). This includes 'A' boards, gazebos, stands and pop-up banners.

Permission for items such as cranes, skips, scaffolding, highways occupation and highways projection are available from Gloucestershire County Council. Please refer to their Gloucestershire County Council website for details.

Our “Special procedure for occasional street trading and objects on the highway” provides special guidance for applications for occasional street trading or consent to place objects on the highway where the application(s) relates to some form of promotional activity.

What is “public highway”?

An object can be any physical thing that will obstruct the free movement of people on the public highway.  Most commonly, this includes ‘A’ board advertising structures, tables and chairs and promotional activity.

A highway is defined in common law as:

All roads, bridges, carriageways, cartways, horseways, bridleways, footways, causeways, churchways, and pavements over which there exists a public right of passage, that is to say a right for all Her Majesty's subjects at all seasons of the year freely and at their will to pass and repass without let or hindrance.

It is important to note that privately maintained highway can also be classed as public highway if there exists a public right of way over it.

If you are unsure about the legal status of any highway, please contact us. You can also refer to our licensing policy for more guidance.

Making an application

To make an application to place annual or temporary objects on the highway, you need to submit the following documents to us:

  • Application form
  • Photograph of the object(s) for which permission is sought 
  • Scale plan indicating where the proposed object(s) will be placed

Please note that in all cases, applicants will be required to confirm that they have obtained public liability insurance with a minimum indemnity of £5 million.

When making the application, a non-refundable administration fee is payable. If your application is successful, you will be required to pay an additional consent fee.

Make an application to place tables and chairs on the highway under the Highways Act 1980

Make an application to place promotional objects such as A-boards, Gazebo etc. on the Highway

Determining your application

For new applications, there is a statutory 28 day consultation period. During this time, any other frontages and businesses likely to be affected by your proposal will have the opportunity to submit comments to the council. If these are objections, we will need to refer the application to the council’s licensing committee for determination.

There is no right of appeal against the refusal or revocation of a consent. 

Tacit consent

Tacit consent does not apply. It is in the public interest that the authority must process your application before it can be granted.  We expect to process applications within 58 calendar days.  The time frame above takes into consideration the need for a Licensing Committee hearing.  Where a decision is delegated to licensing officers, the time frame for determining an application is likely to be less.

If you have not heard from us within the time frame above, please contact us.

Varying a consent

If you want to vary any aspect of your consent, please email us in the first instance ([email protected]). You may be required to complete a new application form and submit the relevant documents. For example, if you want to increase the space you have permission to occupy, you would need to submit a revised scaled drawing.

Reference guides and policy

We have produced a number of guidance documents to help you:

Information