Works and activities on roads or footpaths

Applications

If you are seeking to undertake works or carry out certain activities on roads, footpaths or carparks, you will need to apply for an approval or permit under the Roads Act 1993 and/or the Local Government Act 1993.

Below are the various application types and processes that will apply, depending on the nature of the works or activity you are proposing.

Please note that in some cases, you will have already needed to obtain development approval under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1993 or be applying for approval under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008.

Road, Footpath or Carpark Occupation Permit

You will need to apply for a Road, Footpath and Carpark Occupancy Permit if you are seeking to temporarily occupy an area of road, footpath or public carpark for works, activities or events or to maintain an adjacent building.

Examples of works and activities that would require this permit:

• Fencing off a work site/area
• Setting up a mobile scaffold or ladder on the public footpath for repainting a building
• Using a carpark to run a fete
• Blocking off a street block for a festival
• Mobile breast screening centres

Generally, these permits are only available for daily occupation.

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Road, Footpath and Carpark Occupancy Permit

Road, footpath or other public place Opening Permit

You will need to apply for a Road Opening Permit if you are seeking to carry out excavation within a road, footpath, public reserve or public place for a lawful purpose.

Examples of works that would require this permit:

• Replacing a stormwater pipeline across the footpath
• Connecting water, sewer or gas to a main line in the road or footpath
• Installing an electricity main within the footpath or road
• Potholing to located underground services
• Geotechnical investigations

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Road Opening Permit

LAAN Road opening

Applicants working under the Telecommunications Act 1997 and have submitted a LAAN are not required to lodge a Road Opening Permit and should follow the requirements of Council's response to the LAAN.

If you a seeking response to the LAAN please go to the:

Utility portal

Build a Driveway, Public Domain Works or Levels Permit - Road works

You will need to apply for approval if you are seeking to construct or reconstruct a vehicle crossing and/or to undertake other public domain works, even if you already have an associated development consent.

The approval process applies to all vehicle crossing and public domain proposals, whether associated with a Development Consent, Complying Development Certificate, Exempt Development or just reconstruction of an existing crossing.

Council has a two-step approval process, as follows:

• Roadworks Step 1 – Design Approval, and
• Roadworks Step 2 – Permit to Construct

The Roadworks Step 1 Design Approval application is used to seek approval for the proposal but does not provide approval to undertake the works. Go to the Roadworks Step 1 Design Approval page for details on what else can be applied for under this application.

The Roadworks Step 2 Permit to Construct application is used when you are ready to construct and have engaged your contractor.

Exception:

The Step 1 (design approval) application may not be required under the following circumstances:

• The works are associated with a development consent; and
• There are no development consent conditions requiring Alignment Levels, Levels Certificate, or a Roadworks Permit to be obtained; and
• There are no development consent conditions requiring the submission of a design for the works.

For more information on these permits and to be taken through the application process, please use the links below:

Driveway Roadworks Step 1: Design Approval

Driveway roadworks Step 2: Permit to Construct

Filming/Photography Permit

You will need to apply for a Filming and Photography Permit if you are seeking to undertake filming and still photography on or affecting council owned property, in open spaces and outdoor spaces such as footpaths, roads and parks.

Examples of when a Filming and Photography Permit is required:

• Students filming on the footpath or in a park as part of studies
• Filming in a private residence, with crew and equipment parking on the street
• Filming or photography in the street, requiring traffic control
• Filming in a Council park
• Filming in Council facility, e.g. aquatic centres, town halls

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Filming and photography

Hoarding/Temporary Fencing Permit

You will need to apply for a Hoarding Permit if you are seeking to erect a hoarding, scaffold or temporary fencing around a building site or light duty safety fencing around a work site.

The Hoarding Permit is issued under Section 138 of the Roads Act 1993 and Section 68 of the Local Government Act 1993. You will need to lodge a Hoarding Permit application for the following types of occupation:

• Type A – Hoarding, Scaffolding or Temporary Fencing on a public footpath.
• Type B – Hoarding (where is is built over the top of a public footpath)- Without sheds ,etc above 
• Type B – Hoarding (where it is built over the top of a public footpath) - With Sheds, etc above. 
• Type C – Light duty safety fencing on a public footpath around a work site.

You need to get a permit before you can erect the hoarding or fencing.  Please note that you will need to submit structural engineering designs for all hoarding proposals and certification for some 

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Hoarding Permit

Miscellaneous Engineering applications

The Miscellaneous Engineering permit is issued under Section 68 of the Local Government Act 1993 and Sections 138&139 of the Roads Act 1993. This permit will cover :

• Temporary Ground Anchors or temporary shoring (in public lands)
• Tower Crane (over public land) – to load, unload or slew over public land
• Lighting Design assessment/signature
• Temporary dewatering proposal assessments
• Encroachment into public land
• Owners Consent to lodge a development application for works/activities on the road reserve
• National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) assessments

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Miscellaneous Engineering Permit

Standing Plant Permit

You will need to apply for a Standing Plant Permit if you are seeking to place and operate cranes, concrete pumps or mobile plant on Council roads.

Examples of the type of plant and activities relevant to this permit:

• Trucks (4.5 tonne or 7.5 metre or greater),
• Concrete line or boom pumps
• Mobile cranes, assembling and disassembling tower cranes
• Using a crane to load/unload material from a vehicle
• Scissor lifts, cherry pickers, boom lift
• When an activity in the kerbside or parking lane requires an exclusion zone to be extended into the adjacent lane

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Standing Plant Permit

Skip bin user permit

You will need to apply for a permit if you are seeking to hire a skip bin and have it placed on the road

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Skip Bin Permit

Skip Bin Provider Licence

If you are a company that supplies skip bins and would like to place them on the road in the Inner West Council Local Government Area, you will need to apply for a licence.

For more information on this licence and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Construction waste (skip bins)

Street Party

Neighbourhood Street parties are a fun way to get to know the neighbours – to socialise and share ideas.

Street parties are non-commercial events, with less than 100 attendees

For more information on neighbourhood street parties and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Street parties

Temporary Full Road Closure Permit

You will need to apply for a Temporary Full Road Closure if you are seeking to temporarily close the road to traffic in association with an activity or to undertake works.

A Temporary Full Road Closure is required when the road will be closed to all vehicle traffic.

If the closure can be limited to the Parking Lane (no impact on traffic flow) or at least 3 metres clearance can be maintained for vehicle access (under traffic control), then the partial closure will generally be addressed as part of one of the above permits.

Examples of when a Temporary Full Road Closure is required:

• Closure of the road to allow roadworks to proceed
• Closure of the road to allow a festival or event to take place

Please note that an approved Temporary Full Road Closure does not provide the approval for the associated works or activity and in most cases, separate approvals will need to be obtained.

Depending on the likely impact of the closure on traffic and/or residents/businesses, the Temporary Full Road Closure application may need to be reported to the Local Traffic Committee and Council for determination. Consequently, it could take up to eight (8) weeks for a successful application to be approved.

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Temporary Full Road Closure

Work Zone Permit 

You will need to apply for a Works Zone Permit if you are seeking to create a temporary signposted parking area adjacent to a building site for work vehicles and deliveries.

Note that a Works Zone only allows for parking in accordance with the Australian Road Rules. You will also need to apply for a Standing Plant Permit(s) when applicable, as explained in the Standing Plant Permit section above.

For more information on this permit and to be taken through the application process, please use the link below:

Works Zone Permit

Public Domain Drawings

The engineering standard drawings provide the detailed information you'll need to design, construct or reinstate any public domain works.

Inner West Council public domain works – standard drawings list is available 

Visit the Public Domain Standard Drawings page for information and samples of Public Domain Drawings.

Return of Bonds

A development consent or roadworks activity may require a refundable bond to be paid to council. 

Council uses the bond to rectify (fix) any damage to council assets and/or the environment as a result development work. 

A security deposit relating to a Development Application, or an Engineering Application is determined by Council in accordance with the Local Government Act 1993, Roads Act 1993 and the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979. 

Types of applications that have a bond paid before works start are:  

• Development Applications: The bond is paid before a Construction Certificate issued
• Complying Development Applications: Council recommends that the developer take photographs of all pre-existing damage to Council infrastructure showing the front of the development site and keep this record till the bond is refunded. Failure to provide evidence of pre-existing damage will result in the applicant being responsible for rectification of any damage.
• Local Government Applications (ie. s68)
• Roads Act Applications

Bond Security Deposit Page