What is a Section 50 application to Highways?
In order to ‘dig up the road’ and lay a new sewer connection, we need to apply to Highways for a “Section 50”. This refers to a Street Works Licence under Section 50 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. In short: it’s a legal agreement that allows works to take place in the public Highway. And like most legal agreements, let alone one involving public roads, it’s not quick and it’s definitely not easy.
At JW Clark Ltd we handle Section 50s applications regularly, mainly for new sewer connections. Below, we explain what the licence is, what it involves, and—crucially—why it takes time.
What a Section 50 actually is (in plain English)
A Section 50 licence gives permission for us to open up, work in, and reinstate part of the public highway to install, repair, or connect private apparatus— such as a new sewer connection. It’s issued by the Highway Authority and comes with conditions about how and when the work can be done, how the road is reinstated, and what liability and guarantees apply afterwards.
Key point: This is not just a formality; it’s a binding legal permission tied to safety, liability, and the integrity of the public highway.
Why it’s not a simple application
Highways teams are protecting a live network used by thousands of people. Every licence has to be checked against:
- road safety and traffic management
- clashes with other roadworks and utility works
- school runs, bus routes and events
- technical standards for reinstatement
- the applicant’s competence, accreditations and insurance
Because of that, the process is naturally document-heavy and extremely time-consuming. We employ somebody whose job it is to do Section notice applications to Water Authorities and to Highways, it’s a full-time job for somebody.
What we have to do for a Section 50 – and why it takes time…..
Here’s a realistic picture of the steps involved:
- Initial checks & form filling
We complete the Highway Authority’s application form (each authority has its own version) and ensure all details match drawings and site conditions. Any inconsistency will be bounced back and add days. - Submit evidence of competence
Highways will require proof of NRSWA / Street Works accreditations for both the operatives and supervisors involved. Gathering the correct, in-date certificates for the named people is essential. - Provide insurance documents
Public liability insurance at the level specified by the authority (often £10 million pounds cover) must be provided, current for the whole proposed works period, and in the correct legal entity name. - Scaled drawings & method statements
Plans showing the exact location of the works and apparatus, plus a method statement and risk assessment (RAMS). Poor or unclear drawings will normally result in delays. - Traffic Management plan
Whether we plan to use traffic lights for traffic management, a full road closure, or simply ‘give & take’ traffic management, we have to employ a third-party accredited Traffic Management (TM) company to design a CAD-format drawing showing all signage, cones, barriers, and pedestrian routes. We can’t just tell them “we’re going to use traffic lights”, we have to give them a plan showing where the traffic light heads are going, where signs will be placed, and even where signs will be placed can be complicated by vision splays and a bend in the road, for example. - Site meeting
Highways will normally request a site visit to agree our proposed method of TM, working times, reinstatement requirements and all manner of other details. Quite often, we think a Zoom call or a chat over the phone may be sufficient, but more often than not, it requires us to drive to site for a physical in-person meeting. - Coordination & consultation
Quite a way into the process and when all of the above has been covered – and to get to this point can often take months, not weeks – we will start to speak to Highways about proposed dates, including to check clashes with other utilities and other works via their street works register. They’ll also consult the likes of bus companies, Emergency Services and various other ‘stakeholders’, sometimes even local business and schools etc, many of whom may have an opinion on how or when work is to be carried out. If there’s a clash, and/or if everyone can’t agree, then new dates must be proposed. - Payment of fees and bonds
Application fees (and sometimes a refundable bond) have to be paid before the licence is issued. - Licence issue & conditions
The Section 50 is eventually issued with conditions about working hours, TM, reinstatement specs, guarantee periods, and notification requirements. Quite often though, a Licence can be issued prior to dates having been agreed on. Some Highways in different parts of the country, issue a licence and then ask you to start talking to them about dates. Sometimes there are ‘notice periods’ to use a Licence. In Northamptonshire for example, when a Licence is issued, we then have to give anything between 7 days’ and 3 months’ notice, and quite often it is 3 months! - Notices before, during and after
Even when we’re finally ‘digging up the road’ and using our licence, the paperwork doesn’t end there. There are forms we have to fill out and send to Highways before, during and after our works have been carried out. usually require advance notices to be posted on street furniture, and we always have to do a letter-drop the week before any work commences in the Highway. And Highways do post-works inspections not only after the works has been carried out but 1 year after work has been completed, then 2 years after the works has been completed. For deep excavations – and that’s most sewer connections – the ‘Maintenance Period’, lasts 3 years, This is the period of time for which we are liable for the reinstatement of our excavation. If there are any problems with the reinstatement within 3 years then Highways can, and do, defect our work and we are legally bound to return to site to remedy at our cost.
So how long does the Section 50 application process take, from start to finish…?
It’s a bit of a case of how long is a bit of string, but in our experience, from paperwork going in to Highways, to ground being broken in the road, we have rarely known it to take less than 2 months. A more likely timeframe is anything from 2-3 months, up to about 4-5 months. But we have known plenty of applications to take 6 months or more, and some of them up to and even more than a year….!
I’m in a rush, can a Section 50 application be fast-tracked?
A Section 50 can never be fast-tracked, they simply go into a queue and there is never any preferential treatment for ‘urgent’ cases. And the reason…. If you see below, this map shows the number of roadworks in progress on one day, just in and around Northampton on a normal day in October 2025. Every one of these icons is an ‘opening’ in the Highway and every one of them needs a Section application of some sort – and the majority of them will have been pushing Highways for a start date as soon as possible.
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By JWC
By Tom Stevens