Section 171 excavating the road

If you are planning to carry out temporary excavation in the highway you must apply for consent from our Street Care team under the Highways Act 1980.

Temporary excavation is used for trial holes to establish ground conditions and determine exact position of utility apparatus. Other uses may be to form temporary surfaces and reconstruction of boundary walls where excavation in the highway is necessary.

Work must be carried out by a person who has a prescribed qualification as a supervisor. You must also ensure that a person with prescribed qualifications as a trained operative is present on the site when work is in progress.

For a Temporary Excavation application, you will need to include:

• Temporary Excavation and site inspection fees of £591.
• 1 copy of site plan to a scale not less than 1/500 on ground showing the applicants property and proposed works marked in red.
• 1 copy of location plan to a scale not less than 1/1250 on ground or 1/2500 on ground or 1/10,000 on ground showing location of the site in relation to its surroundings. 

Please allow 28 days for a temporary excavation application to be processed.

Download the application form (.pdf)