Can you scaffold a shop or office that has to stay open?

That is most of our commercial work. Access is designed so entrances, shopfronts and fire escapes keep working, with fans, gantries or covered walkways where the public passes underneath, and erection programmed for evenings or weekends where trading hours leave no other window.

Do you handle the council licence for a scaffold on the pavement?

Yes. Where a commercial scaffold stands on or over the highway, we apply to the local authority, deal with the conditions they set — lighting, hoarding, protected pedestrian routes — and build to them. It is one of the things that most often delays a commercial job when it is left to the last minute.

What accreditations do you hold for commercial work?

CHAS accreditation, alongside Constructionline Gold and Once For All registration. Between them they cover the pre-qualification most main contractors, managing agents and local authorities ask for. Insurance details and certificates can be issued for your records before work starts.

How are inspections recorded on a commercial scaffold?

Statutory inspections are carried out every seven days and after anything that could affect stability, such as severe weather or an alteration. Each is recorded and the reports are issued to you, so the paperwork exists when a client, insurer or inspector asks.

Can you work to our programme and alongside other trades?

Yes — and it works better when the scaffold is discussed before the design is fixed. Lift heights land where the trades need them, loading bays go where the materials are going, and nobody is asking for an alteration halfway through the job.

Do I need a permit or licence?

If the scaffold stands on or over public land — a pavement, a verge or a road — the local authority requires a licence. We apply for it, deal with the council and build to whatever conditions they attach, such as lighting, hoarding or a protected pedestrian route. If the scaffold sits entirely on private property, no licence is normally needed. We will tell you which applies at the survey.

How long does it take to put up?

Most domestic scaffolds go up in a day, and many in a few hours. Larger commercial structures, temporary roofs and anything requiring a bespoke design take longer, and phased jobs are erected in sections to suit the programme. You get a date at the point of quoting, and the crew arrives on it.

Commercial Scaffolding Cambridge | Commercial Scaffolding Stevenage

The short version

What commercial access actually involves

Scaffolding for shops, offices, schools and sites that have to keep running while the work goes on. Planned around your opening hours, your footfall and your other contractors.

A commercial scaffold has to work for a building that is still open. Customers, staff and deliveries carry on underneath it, and the programme it sits inside belongs to somebody else. Alpine plans commercial access around trading hours, pedestrian routes and the other trades on site, so the scaffold is never the reason a date slips.

Shopfronts & retail units
Offices
Schools
New build sites

Commercial Scaffolding by Alpine Scaffolding

Why it is done this way

What you get from Alpine

Your building stays open

Access is designed so shopfronts, entrances and fire escapes keep working, with protected routes where the public passes beneath the structure.
Programmed, not improvised

Erection and dismantle dates are agreed against your programme, including evenings and weekends where trading hours leave no other window.
Inspections you can produce

Statutory inspections are carried out and recorded on schedule, so the paperwork is there when a client, insurer or inspector asks for it.
Accredited for main contractors

CHAS accreditation, alongside Constructionline Gold and Once For All registration, covers the pre-qualification most main contractors ask for.

In the price

What the quote covers

Site-specific design with drawings where the job needs them
Pedestrian protection: fans, gantries and covered walkways as required
Programmed erection, including out-of-hours where trading demands it
Weekly statutory inspections recorded and issued
Council licence applications handled where the scaffold meets public land
Coordination with your principal contractor and other trades

Anything outside this is priced and agreed before it happens — never added afterwards.

Common questions

Before you book

The questions that come up on nearly every commercial job in Stevenage, Cambridge and across Hertfordshire. All FAQs

Can you scaffold a shop or office that has to stay open?

That is most of our commercial work. Access is designed so entrances, shopfronts and fire escapes keep working, with fans, gantries or covered walkways where the public passes underneath, and erection programmed for evenings or weekends where trading hours leave no other window.
Do you handle the council licence for a scaffold on the pavement?

Yes. Where a commercial scaffold stands on or over the highway, we apply to the local authority, deal with the conditions they set — lighting, hoarding, protected pedestrian routes — and build to them. It is one of the things that most often delays a commercial job when it is left to the last minute.
What accreditations do you hold for commercial work?

CHAS accreditation, alongside Constructionline Gold and Once For All registration. Between them they cover the pre-qualification most main contractors, managing agents and local authorities ask for. Insurance details and certificates can be issued for your records before work starts.
How are inspections recorded on a commercial scaffold?

Statutory inspections are carried out every seven days and after anything that could affect stability, such as severe weather or an alteration. Each is recorded and the reports are issued to you, so the paperwork exists when a client, insurer or inspector asks.
Can you work to our programme and alongside other trades?

Yes — and it works better when the scaffold is discussed before the design is fixed. Lift heights land where the trades need them, loading bays go where the materials are going, and nobody is asking for an alteration halfway through the job.
Do I need a permit or licence?

If the scaffold stands on or over public land — a pavement, a verge or a road — the local authority requires a licence. We apply for it, deal with the council and build to whatever conditions they attach, such as lighting, hoarding or a protected pedestrian route. If the scaffold sits entirely on private property, no licence is normally needed. We will tell you which applies at the survey.
How long does it take to put up?

Most domestic scaffolds go up in a day, and many in a few hours. Larger commercial structures, temporary roofs and anything requiring a bespoke design take longer, and phased jobs are erected in sections to suit the programme. You get a date at the point of quoting, and the crew arrives on it.

In the field

Recent commercial jobs

Our own photographs — tap any of them to see it full size, or browse the whole gallery.

Also from Alpine

Commercial Scaffolding

What commercial access actually involves

What you get from Alpine

Your building stays open

Programmed, not improvised

Inspections you can produce

Accredited for main contractors

What the quote covers

Before you book

Recent commercial jobs

Other services