Any scaffold that overhangs or occupies a public footway requires licensing under the Highways Act 1980. The licence is issued by the local highway authority, is time-limited, and carries specific conditions covering signage, lighting, pedestrian protection and reinstatement. On urban schemes, this licensing is a routine compliance item. On rural or suburban schemes where the scaffold is entirely within the site, it does not apply. But where it does apply, the consequences of getting it wrong can be significant.
The Highways Act framework is straightforward in principle. Section 169 covers scaffolds and hoardings on or over the highway. Section 171 covers works that affect the highway. Section 172 covers licences for building operations. The specific licence required depends on the exact geometry of the scaffold and its relationship to the public space.
In practice, the licensing process requires an application to the local authority with drawings showing the scaffold geometry, the pedestrian protection arrangements, and the duration. The authority reviews and, subject to any conditions, issues a licence. The licence typically includes a bonded surety against reinstatement of the highway surface after the scaffold is removed.
Where the licensing process is well-managed, it happens ahead of scaffold erection and the scaffold is ready to install on the day it is approved. Where it is poorly managed, the scaffold contractor arrives on the day and cannot install because the licence is not in place. The plot loses days. The developer's programme slides.
Globe Cambridge's engagement with clients on schemes involving public footway scaffold includes the licensing process from the outset. The application is prepared alongside the scaffold design. The submission is made in time for the authority's normal turnaround. The bonded surety is arranged. The licence is in place before the scaffold contractor mobilises.
There are specific pedestrian protection requirements that developers often underestimate. Overhead protection where materials are being lifted above the footway. Enclosed pedestrian corridors around the scaffold base. Adequate lighting during hours of darkness. Clear signage explaining the arrangement and the safe alternative route. Insurance provision for third-party injury. Each is a discrete requirement that has to be delivered and evidenced.
For urban infill schemes in London and other major cities, the pedestrian protection provisions can add significant cost to the scaffold package. Overhead protection roofs. Timber-lined pedestrian corridors. Amenity signage. Twenty-four-hour monitoring in some cases. The unit rate for scaffold in these locations is not comparable to the unit rate for scaffold on a rural site precisely because the public interface work is substantial.
Reinstatement at scaffold removal is the other item developers underestimate. The bonded surety exists precisely because the highway authority wants to be certain that the pavement surface will be returned to its pre-scaffold condition. Scaffold feet on paving slabs can crack them. Ties into the highway kerb can leave holes. Wear from delivery vehicles can rut the surface. Each is a scope item that has to be delivered before the surety is released.
Globe Cambridge's engagement includes reinstatement work as part of the scaffold package on public footway schemes. The scaffold is dismantled, the affected surfaces are made good, and the reinstatement is offered for highway authority inspection before the surety is released. Where the developer wants to release the surety promptly, this integrated approach is significantly faster than separate procurement of the reinstatement work.
For QSs pricing scaffold on urban schemes, the practical advice is to be specific with bidders about the public footway provisions and to require the licensing and reinstatement work to be in scope explicitly. Where those items are not addressed in the tender, they become variations later. Where they are in scope, the cost is transparent from the outset.
Talk to Globe Cambridge To discuss public footway scaffold arrangements on your scheme on your scheme, contact Globe Cambridge on 01223 890727 or email enquiries@theglobegroup.co.uk.
