What lies beneath a development site?
Aerial photographs and title plans do not show every development constraint.
High-pressure pipelines, electricity cables, sewers, water mains and telecommunications equipment can all influence:
Building positions
Access and road design
Drainage
Landscaping
Open space
Development capacity
Site value
The sensible first step is an infrastructure search covering known asset operators.
LinesearchbeforeUdig provides a free enquiry service covering more than 150 participating asset owners. It also makes clear that not every operator is included and that the plans supplied may not establish an asset’s precise position. LSBUD
Where an asset may affect the proposal, further work can include operator enquiries, title investigation, utility surveying, ground scanning and authorised trial holes.
Major accident hazard pipelines create an additional planning consideration.
The Health and Safety Executive uses inner, middle and outer consultation zones. Its advice takes account of the proposed use, size and intensity as well as proximity to the pipeline.
A housing scheme, workplace, school or care facility may therefore receive different advice on the same land.
Developers can use the HSE’s Planning Advice Web App to establish whether a site lies within a consultation distance and obtain an indication of the likely planning advice. HSE
The design should then respond to the constraint.
Depending on the asset and operator requirements, a protected corridor may influence open space, landscaping, roads or habitat provision. Inspection and maintenance access must also be retained.
The important point is timing. Discovering the constraint after the layout has been fixed may reduce the number of units or require substantial redesign.
An early planning and architectural appraisal should establish:
What crosses or adjoins the site.
Which legal and safety restrictions apply.
How the asset affects the proposed use.
Whether a workable layout remains possible.
Whether the revised capacity supports the land value.
Tyler Parkes combines planning, architectural and site-appraisal experience to test these issues before clients commit to a development strategy.
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