Skip permits in Northampton
You only need a skip permit if the skip goes on the road, pavement or verge. The skip firm applies to West Northamptonshire Council for you. The council charges the firm £27 a week, which is added to your hire price.
The council calls it a skip licence. Most people call it a permit. This page sets out what the council says, and what it doesn’t.
Do you need a permit?
On your driveway or private land
No permit is needed if the skip stays inside your property boundary, such as your drive or front garden. The council says this is the best place for a skip where possible, and you can use any skip firm you like.
On the road, pavement or verge
The skip needs a council licence. The skip firm applies for it, adds the fee to your hire price, and puts out lights, and possibly cones, while the skip is there. If the council decides the spot isn’t suitable, it won’t approve the licence.
What the council says
From West Northamptonshire Council’s skip licence page.
Topic
What the council says
Who applies
Only the skip firm. Members of the public can’t apply to the council.
Weekly fee
£27 per week, charged to the skip firm, which adds it to your hire price.
Pedestrian areas
For skips in pedestrian areas of larger towns, the council lists “an additional fee of £155 per week”.
How long you can keep it
As long as you need it. The fee is charged per week.
Extending the permit
Your skip firm contacts the council to extend it for you.
Where it can go
On the highway: the pavement, the verge or the edge of the road.
Unsuitable spots
The council won’t approve a licence if the spot isn’t suitable.
Lights and cones
Lights are needed, and possibly cones. The skip firm supplies and looks after them.
On your own land
No licence needed inside your property boundary, such as a front garden.
Common myths about skip permits
“A permit costs £40 to £52 for 14 days”
The council charges the skip firm £27 a week. There’s no 14-day block and no maximum period: the weekly fee applies for as long as the skip is on the road. £52 doesn’t appear anywhere on the council’s page. Ask the skip firm what it charges you for the permit, so you know the total.
“Permits take five working days”
The council doesn’t publish a processing time. [TO CONFIRM – council processing time] If your skip has to go on the road, say so when you call, so the firm can tell you how much notice it needs.
“You apply to the council yourself”
You can’t. The council only accepts applications from skip firms, through an online form for skip companies. Your skip firm applies on your behalf.
Still to confirm with the council
The council’s page doesn’t cover these points. Until it does, ask the skip firm when you book.
How long the council takes to approve a permit: [TO CONFIRM]
Size limits for skips on the road: [TO CONFIRM]
Insurance the council requires from skip firms: [TO CONFIRM]
Whether a part week is charged as a full week: [TO CONFIRM]
What an extension costs: [TO CONFIRM]
Whether VAT is added to the council fee: [TO CONFIRM]
Whether the £155 pedestrian-area fee is on top of the £27, or instead of it: [TO CONFIRM]
Council page last updated 10 November 2025. Checked on 27 October 2026.
Removal powers: Highways Act 1980, section 140
Skip permit questions
Who puts out the lights and cones for a skip on the road?
The skip firm. The council says a skip on the road needs lights and possibly traffic cones, and that the skip firm supplies and maintains them as a condition of the licence.
Can I extend a skip permit?
Yes. Ask your skip firm and it will contact the council to extend the licence for you. The council doesn’t say whether an extension costs more than the weekly fee, so check the price with the firm.
Can the council refuse a skip permit?
Yes. If the council decides the spot isn’t suitable, it won’t approve the licence. A skip on your drive or front garden doesn’t need a licence at all.
Can a skip on the road be moved?
Yes. Under the Highways Act 1980, the highway authority or a uniformed police officer can require the skip’s owner to remove or move it, or move it themselves.
Need a skip on the road?
Call [PHONE] or send the form below. Tell us your postcode, the skip size and whether it will go on your drive or the road. If it needs a permit, the skip firm applies for it.
Not sure which size? See the skip sizes guide