Counties

Skip hire in Kent

First published 7 September 2026. Last checked 1 October 2026.

“Kent” is not one permit office. Kent County Council licences skips on the road across most of the two-tier county. Medway is a separate unitary for Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham. A skip on the public road needs a licence from the authority that looks after that road.

Two authorities, not one

Most of ceremonial Kent is still two-tier for local government. Districts and boroughs do not issue the highway skip licence – Kent County Council does. Medway Council is a unitary with its own highways team. That is the map for a skip on the road today.

If the skip sits wholly on private land you control, you do not need a highway licence. If any part sits on the public road, you do. National rule: Do I need a skip permit? and GOV.UK skip licence (England and Wales).

Who issues the road licence

Villages (HoC Village class)

Skip Clerk covers House of Commons Village-class settlements inside the Kent County Council highway area (Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Dover, Folkestone and Hythe, Gravesham, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Swale, Thanet, Tonbridge and Malling, Tunbridge Wells – not Medway), not only the S/M/L towns. These pages are not part of the public 1,174 towns claim. Each village page has a unique About overview plus the Kent County Council permit facts (£45 per week 2026–27; 5 working days; last checked 1 October 2026). Wave 6 (1 Oct 2026) adds Capel-le-Ferne, Warden, Bean, Blean, Wrotham, Burham and further villages. 220 Kent CC villages are seeded; 72 shipped after tonight (12 tonight). Full list: Skip hire by town.

Towns and which authority

Town pages now live for Maidstone, Ashford, Canterbury, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Folkestone, Dover, Deal, Hythe, Gravesend, Sittingbourne, Faversham, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Swanley, Dartford, Whitstable, Herne Bay, Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Sheerness, Snodland, Edenbridge, Tenterden, Paddock Wood, Minster, , Northfleet, Larkfield, Swanscombe, Longfield, New Ash Green and Hartley, Kings Hill, Southborough, Bearsted, Hawkinge, Greenhill and Rusthall and Langton Green, plus Medway towns Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and Hoo St Werburgh. Further Kent and Medway towns shipped 12 September 2026. Essex hub is open: Skip hire in Essex.

How to hire without a fake directory

1. Decide the size from the job – What size skip do I need? (including the new 2-yard mini).
2. Name the highway authority for your road. In most of Kent that is Kent County Council – give the firm at least five working days if it sits on the road.
3. Ask for the waste-carrier number and check it – how to check a waste carrier licence.
4. Keep plasterboard, electricals and sofas out of a mixed skip unless the operator says otherwise – what you cannot put in a skip.

Sources

• Skip Clerk: Skip permit: Kent County Council – £45/week; company applies; 5 working days.
• Kent County Council: highways fees and charges. Checked 7 September 2026.
• Kent County Council: apply for a highways licence.
• Town names from House of Commons Library CBP-8322 small/medium/large towns. Medway named as a separate unitary with shipped town pages. Essex hub linked for the next county.
• No invented provider list or hire prices on this page.