Parking and chipper permits for Exeter tree work

Tree work in a terraced Exeter street is rarely just a matter of driving up with a saw. A chipper, a skip, a crane or even a van parked across the carriageway can require permission from the highway authority, and some of that permission has to be arranged weeks before the crew arrives. Owners and contractors who leave the road question until the day often find the job delayed, moved or made more expensive by traffic management the crew did not plan for.

Who controls the road

The highway authority for the Exeter area is Devon County Council, not Exeter City Council. That distinction matters because the city council is the planning authority for tree protection, while the county council controls the road itself, including skips, scaffolding, excavations and any restriction on parking. A permit for a skip or a chipper is requested from the highway authority, and a planning consent for the tree work is requested from the city council. Both can be needed for the same job. Devon County Council's page on minor work on the highway says a licence is needed before any minor work on the highway, or any use of it that reduces its width, and it lists carrying out tree works among the examples; the highway includes the road, the pavement and the verge.

The legal framework is set out in the Highways Act 1980. Part IX of the Act deals with obstruction of highways and the precautions that must be taken when work affects a street. The provisions are not always obvious to people who are not in the building trade, which is why contractors often arrange the permits for the owner as part of the quote.

Skips and builders' containers

Section 139 of the Highways Act 1980 provides that a builder's skip must not be deposited on a highway without the permission of the highway authority, and that permission can carry conditions about lighting and marking. Devon County Council's skip licence page says a licence is needed to place a skip on the highway but not on private land, that applications must be made by the skip provider with at least 10 working days' notice, and that a licence lasts for a maximum of 28 days unless it is extended. The same page warns that it is technically an offence under section 139 to deposit a skip before the licence date, so a crew that plans to remove the skip on the day of the work should still make sure it is licensed in advance.

The council's licence applies to any skip placed on the highway, so a skip used only for tree waste should be treated in the same way as one used for building waste, and it should be covered by a licence before it arrives. Skips are also part of the waste chain, so the contractor should say where the contents will go. Where space allows, a trailer parked on private land or a collection on the day may avoid the need for a skip in the road, but that depends on the access and should be agreed with the contractor before the job is priced.

Scaffolding, platforms and cranes on the highway

Equipment that works on or over the road has its own licences in Devon. The county council's minor work page points to separate licences for a mobile elevating work platform and for a scaffold or hoarding, and its page on cranes over the highway explains that section 178 of the Highways Act 1980 regulates apparatus such as rails, beams and cranes placed over the highway and section 169 the control of cranes on the highway, that it is an offence to place such equipment before applying for a licence, and that at least 20 days' notice is needed. A crane lift over a pavement, or a boom that overhangs the carriageway, should therefore be raised with the highway authority well before the date is fixed.

Many tree jobs need none of these licences, because the equipment stands and works entirely within the property boundary. The check matters most where a street is narrow, where the tree overhangs the road or where the crew needs to block a lane while the work is carried out. An experienced contractor will look at the access before pricing and will say which equipment needs a licence and which does not.

Deposits of materials and temporary excavations

Chipping, stacking logs or storing stumps on the highway falls under section 171 of the Highways Act 1980. That section allows a person to temporarily deposit building materials, rubbish or other things in a street, or to make a temporary excavation in it, but only with the consent of the highway authority, which may attach conditions. A chipper placed on the carriageway while the crew feeds it is an obvious example, and so is a pile of waste left for collection overnight. The same section requires anything deposited in the street to be properly fenced and lit during the hours of darkness and not left there longer than necessary. In Devon, depositing materials or equipment on the highway is one of the activities covered by the minor work on the highway licence, which needs at least 20 days' notice and must be applied for by the contractor on the customer's behalf.

Stump grinding that disturbs the footway, or a trench dug to find a root, may also count as a temporary excavation. The safest course is to keep all material on private land and to ask the highway authority for consent in advance if that is not possible. A crew that starts digging in the pavement without consent can leave the owner facing a request from the highway authority to repair the damage.

Chippers are the piece of equipment most often overlooked when the road is planned. A machine that weighs several tonnes concentrates its load on a small area, and a crew should not place it over a manhole cover, a kerb edge or a footway that can be damaged. Where the chipper must stand on the carriageway, the owner should ask the crew to show where it will sit, so that the highway authority can see the position when the permit is considered.

Traffic management and parking suspensions

Some work requires the removal of parking bays for a period, so that a vehicle can reach the tree or a skip can be placed. Devon County Council's temporary traffic restrictions page says that suspending parking, like closing a road or suspending a one-way street, needs a temporary traffic regulation order or notice, which is a legal process. The council asks for three months' notice, a start date and duration, public liability insurance with a minimum cover of £5 million, a proposed diversion route and evidence that local residents and businesses have been consulted, and it treats road closures as a last resort. The notice period is not something the crew controls, so the application should be made as soon as the date is known.

Traffic management covers signs, cones and in some cases a banksman who controls traffic past the work. The cost depends on the layout of the road and the duration of the job. A short job on a quiet road may need only a few cones, while a longer operation on a main route may need a formal traffic management plan that takes time to approve. The lead time for these plans should be included in the programme before any date is fixed. The council's temporary traffic restrictions page adds that traffic management such as temporary traffic lights, give-and-take or stop-and-go boards does not need an order, but it does need a licence to carry out minor work on the highway.

Where the road is narrow, the crew may also need to plan how vehicles pass the work. A banksman can hold traffic while a lorry manoeuvres, and a clear route for emergency vehicles should be kept open at all times. Owners in Exeter should raise these points with the contractor before the job is priced, because they affect the number of people on site and the length of the working day.

Consider a typical sequence for a single large tree in a terraced street. The owner first confirms whether the tree needs consent. The crew then asks the highway authority whether a chipper can stand on the carriageway, whether a skip is needed and whether a suspension is required. Once those answers are known, the programme can be fixed with the start date, the duration and the day the skip is collected. Each step depends on the one before, which is why a late answer on one permit can push the whole job back.

Lead times and planning the programme

The practical lesson is that permits set the programme. Devon's published minimum notice is 10 working days for a skip licence, 20 days for a minor work licence and three months for a temporary traffic restriction, so an application made the day before will not be in time. Owners should ask the contractor to list every permit the job needs, the date each was requested and the date each is expected. A quote that says nothing about permits should be queried before it is accepted.

The commercial tree service page sets out how multi-visit work is planned, and the residential service covers the typical arrangements for work in domestic streets. Owners who want to know what is included before they commit can send a quote request that describes the street, the equipment and the time needed on site.

Waste from the job also matters. Removing chippings and logs from a street has its own rules, and the guide on stump grinding for Exeter gardens explains how stump and root material is usually handled. Bat roosts can also affect the timing of work that is near a street, and the guide on bat roosts covers the checks that need to come before a permit is requested.

Sources and further reading

Highways Act 1980, section 171 (legislation.gov.uk)
Carry out minor work on the highway (Devon County Council)
Apply for a skip licence (Devon County Council)
Temporary traffic restrictions (Devon County Council)
Placement of rails, beams and cranes over the highway (Devon County Council)