Permits
Skip permit: Medway Council
If the skip sits on a public highway in Medway, a road licence is required. Medway’s page (checked 8 September 2026) says skip licences are usually obtained by the company supplying the skip, the fee is £73 for 14 days, and they need at least three days’ notice. A skip wholly on private land you control does not need this licence.
You usually do not apply as a householder. Medway says customers do not need to contact the council directly; the skip company applies. The applicant must hold at least £5 million public liability insurance and be a registered waste carrier.
When you need one
- Public road or other adopted highway in Medway (Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham and nearby): yes.
- Wholly on a driveway or other private land you control: no. National rule: Do I need a skip permit?.
- Any encroachment onto the highway counts as on the highway.
- Most of ceremonial Kent outside Medway is Kent County Council – Skip permit: Kent County Council.
The statutory hook is still Highways Act 1980, section 139.
Who applies
Medway’s licence page: skip licences are usually obtained by the company supplying the skip. Standard conditions require the company placing the skip to carry a minimum of £5 million public liability insurance and to be a registered waste carrier. Applications go via Medway’s downloadable form to streetworks@medway.gov.uk (see the apply page).
Fee, notice and duration
Figures below are from Medway Council’s licence to place a skip on a road on 8 September 2026. The £73 figure also matches Medway’s published highways licensing fees table for 2026/27 (skip licence, first 14 days). Recheck those pages on the day you book.
| Item | What Medway published |
|---|---|
| Permit fee | £73 for the first 14 days |
| Duration | Licences are granted for 14 days; you can apply to renew |
| Notice | At least 3 days’ notice to issue a licence |
| Insurance | £5 million public liability; registered waste carrier |
| Refusal risk | Narrow roads, double yellow lines, or other inspector reasons |
High streets
Medway asks you to discuss high-street placements with an inspector. Skips on high streets must be removed each night unless they are lockable and raised on blocks to protect the pavement. On Chatham High Street, skips must be delivered before 10am and collected after 5pm because traffic is prohibited in between.
Neighbours
Medway is a unitary. Kent County Council covers most of the rest of ceremonial Kent – Skip hire in Kent.
A sensible order
- Can it sit wholly on the drive with no overhang? If yes, book that and skip the licence.
- If it has to go on the road, tell the hire firm at booking and give them at least three days.
- Check their waste-carrier number – how to check a waste carrier licence.
- Size the job on the size guide.
Towns in this council
Local skip-hire guides that sit under Medway Council. The permit rules on this page apply when the skip sits on the public road.
All areas: Skip hire by town.
Sources
- Medway Council: licence to place a skip on a road – company usually applies; £73 / 14 days; 3 days’ notice. Checked 8 September 2026.
- Medway Council: apply for a skip licence – standard conditions; £5m PL; form to streetworks@medway.gov.uk.
- Highways Act 1980, section 139.
- GOV.UK: skip licence (England and Wales).
- No invented provider list or hire prices on this page.