Skip permit costs in Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich

What does a skip permit cost in each borough?

A skip permit, which Bromley and Greenwich call a skip licence, is the council's permission to put a skip on the road. Each council sets its own skip permit cost and the length of time it covers, and the table shows what each one publishes.

Bromley Council charges £50 for a skip licence, valid for two weeks. Any extension or renewal needs a new application, treated exactly like the first, and the council asks you to allow two working days for it to be processed (Bromley skip licences (external site)).

Bexley Council charges £65 per application, and each permit covers one skip for up to 14 days. A new application is needed for each further 14 days, made before the old permit expires and at least two working days before the start date. The fee isn't refunded once the application has been processed (Bexley skip permits (external site)).

The Royal Borough of Greenwich charges £114 for a standard skip licence, usually valid for 30 days. Its page doesn't say how renewals work or how much notice it needs, so ask the skip company. Greenwich charges skip companies £190 for each skip that has no licence or doesn't meet its rules (Royal Greenwich skip licence (external site)).

Who applies for the skip permit, you or the skip company?

Bromley only accepts applications from skip companies registered with the council. Applications from individuals or unregistered companies are refused, and any fees aren't refunded. Bromley also says responsibility for the licence rests solely with the skip company, not the householder or the builder (Bromley skip licences (external site)).

Royal Greenwich is just as clear: you can't get the licence yourself. A skip company on the council's approved list applies and agrees the safest place for the skip with the council (hire a skip in Greenwich (external site)). Greenwich adds that using a listed company isn't a guarantee of satisfactory service.

Bexley's page is written to you and doesn't say a householder can't apply. It does list what skip companies must hold, including a waste carrier's licence, and says the skip company will need the permit number, which Bexley sends by post or email or gives over the phone (Bexley skip permits (external site)).

Whichever borough you're in, ask the skip firm whether its quote includes the permit cost, and who books any parking bay suspension.

What rules does a skip on the road have to follow?

The law behind every skip permit is section 139 of the Highways Act 1980 (external site). It says a builder's skip can't be put on a highway without the permission of the highway authority. The authority can attach conditions, including where the skip sits, its size, how it's painted so traffic can see it, its lighting or guarding, and when it's removed.

In London, the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2013 (external site) lets the highway authority give the skip's owner a penalty charge for a skip on the highway without permission. The owner of a permitted skip faces the same charge unless these are all met:

• The skip is properly lit during the hours of darkness.
• It's clearly marked with the owner's name and phone number or address.
• It's removed as soon as practicable after it's been filled.
• It carries the markings set by regulations: red fluorescent and yellow reflective markings on each end of a skip on the road, though not on a footway or verge (Builders' Skips (Markings) Regulations 1984 (external site)).
• Every condition on the permit is met.

Each council adds its own conditions. Royal Greenwich says a skip on the road must be no bigger than 3 metres by 2 metres, which it puts at 8 yards, and that it isn't always possible to put the skip exactly where you want it (Royal Greenwich skip licence (external site)). Bexley can set conditions on siting, size, visibility to traffic, lighting and guarding, and its page shows the marking sizes and diagrams of where the cones and lamps go (Bexley skip permits (external site)).

Bromley can add special conditions depending on the location and the type of skip. It treats larger roll on roll off skips as storage containers, which need a different licence (Bromley skip licences (external site)).

Red routes sit outside the councils' control. In Bromley, Transport for London, not the council, issues the licence for a skip on the A21 or the A232 (Bromley skip licences (external site)). Bexley can't suspend parking bays on a red route either, and sends those requests to Transport for London (Bexley parking suspensions (external site)).

What if the skip goes in a parking bay?

A skip in a restricted parking bay needs a bay suspension as well as the permit. Bromley and Bexley both want the skip permit issued before you ask for the suspension.

In Bromley, a skip in a permit bay, loading bay, short stay bay, pay and display bay or car park bay needs the bay suspended for the whole licence period, while a free parking bay doesn't (Bromley skip licences (external site)). Suspensions are based on £40 per bay per day plus a £30 admin fee per application. They need at least three working days' notice and cover up to 10 bays for up to 14 days (Bromley parking suspensions (external site)).

In Bexley, a skip in a resident, metered or pay and display bay needs a suspension, arranged once the permit has been issued (Bexley skip permits (external site)). Bexley's parking page bases suspensions on £50 per bay per day or £150 per bay per week, with at least three working days' notice, and refuses a skip suspension without a permit (Bexley parking suspensions (external site)). The skip permit page still lists £30 a day or £80 a week, so check the price when you apply.

Royal Greenwich says Parking Services can charge by the day for a skip in certain parking bays (Royal Greenwich skip licence (external site)). Its bay suspension page lists £66.40 per bay per day plus a £66.40 admin fee that isn't refunded, with 10 working days' notice. Cancelling costs 20% of the fee or £66.40, whichever is more (Royal Greenwich parking suspensions (external site)).

Do you need a permit for a skip on your own driveway?

Section 139 covers skips on a highway, so a skip kept on your own land generally needs no council permit. Royal Greenwich says so outright: you don't need a skip licence for a skip in your front garden or driveway, and you don't have to use one of its approved skip companies (hire a skip in Greenwich (external site)).

Bromley's licence applies to any skip on a public highway the council maintains, or on an unadopted highway where the public has a right of passage. No licence is needed on private roads where public access is restricted or controlled (Bromley skip licences (external site)). Bexley's page says you need a permit to put a skip on a public road (Bexley skip permits (external site)). Neither page mentions driveways by name.

The pavement outside isn't part of your drive. Bexley takes a deposit in advance for a skip on the footway, a vehicle crossover or a grass verge, and refunds it after an inspection shows no damage, though it doesn't publish the amount. On a Greenwich council estate, a skip on council housing land needs a licence from the local estate office instead, covering skips up to six yards for 28 days (hire a skip in Greenwich (external site)).

Where does RLE fit if you'd rather not have a skip?

We don't hire skips. RLE Waste Clearance sends a two-person crew that loads the truck and takes the waste on the same visit, so nothing is left on the road and no skip licence or parking suspension is involved. A skip makes sense for a long DIY project where waste comes out a bit at a time over several weeks and you have room for it on the drive.

Loads are priced by the space your waste takes in the truck, from £60 plus VAT up to £360 plus VAT for a full 15 cubic yard truck, with loading, transport and disposal included. Heavy loads of rubble, bricks and soil are £360 plus VAT for up to 15 cubic yards or 1,200kg. Send a photo and your postcode on WhatsApp (07534 244774) and the price is confirmed before we start.

We cover rubbish removal in Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich. Our alternative to skip hire page sets out how the two compare, and builders' waste and rubble removal cover waste from building work.