Site hoardings

Building work next to a street changes the pavement for everyone who walks past.

A hoarding is the solid fence that screens the site from the street. Councils, the law on highways and the health and safety rules all have something to say about it.

A licence from the council

You need a licence from the local authority to put up a hoarding or scaffolding on a public highway anywhere in the UK. Each council runs its own scheme, with its own form, notice period and conditions. GOV.UK has a postcode search that finds the right council.

Councils ask for different things. Warwickshire County Council, for example, asks for applications at least 10 working days before the hoarding goes up. It wants £10 million of public liability insurance and a plan showing where the hoarding will stand. It will not grant a hoarding on the highway if there is room on private land.

In London, Wandsworth Council issues hoarding licences for at least 28 days. A hoarding on a red route needs permission from Transport for London instead.

What the law says

The Highways Act 1980 deals with hoardings in section 172. Anyone putting up or pulling down a building in a street must first put up a hoarding or fence that separates the work from the street. The council has to approve it, and it can also agree that none is needed.

The council can ask for a covered walkway with a handrail for people on foot. It can also ask for the hoarding to be kept in good condition, lit at night and taken down when it says so. Anyone who disagrees with a council decision can appeal to a magistrates' court. Breaking the rules is a criminal offence.

Keeping the public safe

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says the edges of a site need fencing where that is necessary. The type of fence should suit the site and what is around it. In busy places, HSE says this usually means a two-metre high small mesh fence or a hoarding.

HSE also points out that some children see building sites as exciting places to play. Builders must do everything they can to keep them out. Pedestrians must be kept clear of vehicles going in and out of the site.

Adverts on a hoarding

A hoarding can also carry posters. In England, the advertisement rules allow poster hoardings that screen a building site without a separate application, within limits. The site must be one being developed for commercial, industrial or business use, and housing sites are left out. The posters can stay up for up to three years, at no more than 38 square metres and 4.6 metres high.

The advertiser must tell the planning authority in writing at least 14 days before the display starts. This permission does not apply in National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Conservation Areas or the Broads. The builder's own board at the site follows separate, smaller limits.

Before the hoarding goes up

A few questions are easier to settle early.