B5.10.1 Servicing and utilities

The location and installation of all utility apparatus within the highway, both above and below ground, must be planned and coordinated from the outset of the design process. This is particularly critical where surface areas are to be shared by vehicles and pedestrians. The intended approach must be demonstrated on layout plans and/or a narrative provided in the Design and Access Statement (DAS).

New developments must accommodate main utility services under footways, and avoid locating services under the carriageway or within private gardens. Where there is no dedicated footway (for example on some Tertiary Routes), a service strip margin of 2 metres must be provided, which is 1 metre clear of the nearest public sewer and 0.3 metres from the kerb face. Provision must be made for future technologies by allowing space within any new ducting.

Where a service margin is proposed it must be located within clearly delineated margins (such as footways or hard block-paved strips) and must not be located within private property boundaries to ensure full access for maintenance.

Any proposed above-ground utility equipment must be sited to ensure that it:

• does not obstruct visibility sightlines at junctions, accesses, or crossings

• does not create unnecessarily wide or sterile easements that reduce usable public space

• is not positioned within 5 metres of other street furniture in a way that would create a double obstruction for pedestrians; where items must be within 5 metres of each other, they must be aligned to minimise disruption

• respects the setting and significance of heritage assets

• is not sited in locations that would create visual clutter or harm the character of the street scene (such as prominent corners, gateway entrances or vista points)

• does not obstruct the movement of pedestrians, wheelchairs, prams, or mobility scooters (a minimum clear footway of 2 metres must be maintained, increasing to at least 3.5 metres in areas of high pedestrian flows (500 pedestrians per hour or more) or near schools, bus stops, and railway stations

• does not pose a safety hazard to the public or to staff required to maintain the equipment

• does not facilitate crime or antisocial behaviour, including by providing concealment

• is not positioned so that it enables illegal access (for example siting cabinets next to boundary walls must be avoided)

• does not restrict natural surveillance from dwellings or disrupt the visual line of low boundary walls