Putting a skip on the road: how the permit works

Half the streets in Swindon’s older neighbourhoods have no drives. That doesn’t rule a skip out — it just means the skip needs permission to stand on the road.

Who needs a permit

You need one whenever any part of the skip sits on the public highway: the road, a pavement or a verge. On your own drive, forecourt or land, you don’t.

If you are not sure where your boundary is, a photo helps. Shared drives and private access roads can go either way.

Who applies, and what it costs

We do. The permit names the skip company as responsible for the skip, so in most areas it has to come from us. We apply online, pay the council’s fee and add it to your booking at cost, with no mark-up — in our area that is currently £48.

How long it takes

Allow three working days. The council checks that the skip won’t block a junction, a bus stop, a drop kerb or a drain, and occasionally asks for it to move along. We give you a delivery date that already allows for this, and our size finder shows it the moment you pick “on the road”.

The rules while it’s there

• Lit and coned. Every road skip has reflective markings, four cones and night lamps. We supply them and check them; please don’t move them.
• Fourteen days. A permit usually runs for two weeks. We renew it for you if the job overruns.
• Only 12 yards and under. Roll-on containers can’t stand on the road at all.
• Keep it tidy. Nothing stacked beside the skip on the pavement.

If a permit won’t work

If the road is too narrow, or the job is a single day’s load, book wait & load instead. The lorry waits while you fill it and leaves with it, so no permit is needed at all.