Section 50 guidance for all applicants

This guidance for applicants acts as an introduction into the requirements of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (“NRSWA”) and is a simple checklist and guide for the applicant.

The requirement to obtain a Street Works Licence applies to any person or organisation (other than a Statutory Body) who wishes to place, retain and thereafter inspect, maintain, adjust, repair, alter or renew apparatus, or change its position or remove it from the Highway.

The term apparatus includes:

• surface boxes
• ironware
• drains
• cables
• ducts
• sewer pipes
• water
• gas pipes

and so on.

The person granted a Street Works Licence becomes an Undertaker for the purposes of NRSWA, and therefore attracts the relevant duties and responsibilities imposed by the Act and its associated Secondary Legislation and Codes of Practice.

Financial penalties will be imposed by the Street Authority against the licence holder, who will be held responsible for non-compliance with the relevant statutory duties or licence conditions. Applicants should note that this responsibility cannot be delegated to any other person or organisation. Within the rural county of Dorset, the Street Authority is Dorset Council.

A Street Works Licence or consent to work on existing apparatus in the highway will only be granted to the owner(s) of the apparatus or his/her/their Successors in Title. Owners should note their statutory duty to ensure that the apparatus is properly maintained at all times.

Applicants should note that special conditions may be imposed by the Street Authority:

• To minimise the inconvenience to persons using the street, having regard to people with a disability in particular
• For works in Traffic Sensitive Streets, Streets with Special Engineering Difficulties and Protected Streets

The applicant must adhere strictly to these conditions.

The Licensee must permit the Street Authority to monitor his performance throughout all stages of street works. These are signing and guarding, excavation, backfilling and reinstatement immediately after permanent reinstatement, between 6 and 9 months after permanent reinstatement and during the one month preceding the end of the guarantee period. This period will begin from the date the Street Authority is notified of the permanent reinstatement.

Where the apparatus in respect of which an application for a Street Works Licence is made to the Street Authority is to be placed or retained on a line crossing the street, and not along the line of the street, a person aggrieved by:

• the refusal of the Authority to grant him a licence
• their refusal to grant a licence except on terms prohibiting its assignment
• any terms or conditions of the licence granted to him may appeal to the Secretary of State