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What to establish before design and programme are fixed
A utility diversion is the rerouting of utility services. Diversionary works may be needed, for example, when highway improvements affect existing apparatus. The practical challenge is broader than drawing a new route: the project must understand what is present, assess conflicts with the proposed works, identify who needs to agree a response, and allow for the work and approvals in its plan.
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Begin with the full project boundary: the site, proposed permanent works, construction access, temporary works, sequencing, and any work in or near a road, highway or public realm. Consider both buried and overhead apparatus. HSE specifically identifies underground services and overhead power lines as site features to consider when planning construction work. Its guidance advises clients and project teams to gather as much health-and-safety information about the project and site as possible before work starts, and to use information available at tender to allow time and resources for problems. HSE: Planning for construction.
Do not wait for a construction start date to discover that a utility route crosses a foundation, drainage run, access road or excavation. By then, moving the project design may be difficult and the programme may already depend on a solution that has not been agreed. Utility planning belongs in the design and procurement conversation as well as the site-safety conversation: a design decision can create, avoid or shift a conflict, while an unresolved service question can affect tender allowances and the order in which work can proceed.
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Who should be involved, and when
Set a clear project lead
Give one named project lead responsibility for maintaining the utility interface log and chasing decisions. This is a useful project-control arrangement, not a statutory job title established by the guidance cited here. The lead should coordinate design, site investigation, client decisions, undertaker contacts, authority discussions, estimates and programme dependencies.
The lead does not replace specialist judgement or the asset owner’s role in assessing its apparatus. Instead, the role is to make sure that questions do not sit unanswered between workstreams. For example, a design team may identify a possible clash, but the project lead can ensure that the location evidence is checked, the relevant undertaker is identified, a decision is requested, and the programme records what depends on the answer.
Use the CDM pre-construction roles
The client is responsible for making suitable project-management arrangements. On a project involving, or likely to involve, more than one contractor, the principal designer coordinates health and safety during pre-construction. Appoint the principal contractor early enough to work with the client and principal designer. These roles should be part of the utility-planning conversation: the design team needs to expose conflicts while options remain open, and the construction team can help identify sequencing and access implications. HSE’s planning guidance sets out the relevant pre-construction planning principles.
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In practice, share utility information with the people who can act on it: the client and design team when layouts or specifications are being developed, the principal designer when pre-construction health-and-safety risks are being coordinated, and the principal contractor when access, sequencing and construction methods are being planned. The earlier these discussions happen, the more likely the team is to be able to compare a design change with a protection or relocation option before the construction sequence is committed.
Identify every affected undertaker and relevant authority
For each possible conflict, establish which undertaker owns or operates the affected apparatus and which authority has a role in the road or highway arrangements. Do not assume a single utility contact or a single approval process will cover every asset. Record who has been contacted, what information was shared, what decision is required, and who must act next.
Make the distinction between parties clear in the project record. The undertaker is relevant to the apparatus and its assessment; the authority has a role in highway or street-works coordination where those arrangements apply. Some projects will need to discuss both. A conversation with one party should not be recorded as if it settles the other party’s decision or any separate approval.
Investigate the site: records are a starting point, not proof
Collect existing information
Bring together client and design records, contract information, available site records, previous health-and-safety files, and relevant site history. Review them against the actual proposed work area and construction sequence. A plan that shows an indicative route is an input to investigation; it should not be treated as confirmation that every service has been found, that the plotted position is exact, or that no other apparatus is present.
Think about what the team needs to know to make the next decision. A route that appears clear of the finished building may still matter where foundations, drainage, roadworks, temporary works or construction access are proposed. Likewise, information for the permanent design may not answer a question about a temporary excavation or a changed construction sequence. Keep the investigation tied to the location and work that could actually be affected.
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Make uncertainty visible and plan further investigation
Mark what is confirmed, what is assumed, and what remains unknown. Where available information does not resolve a possible conflict, define suitable specialist investigation with competent providers. HSE calls for underground services to be considered in pre-construction planning, but the cited guidance does not prescribe one universal survey method or promise a particular detection level. The investigation scope must fit the site, the proposed work and the unresolved question.
A cable avoidance tool may be one element of competent site investigation, but equipment alone does not establish that all services have been located or make excavation safe. Do not use a device reading as a substitute for suitable specialist investigation, service-owner information or safe excavation procedures. The appropriate method and precautions depend on the actual work and site. No particular device model, performance claim or product listing is established by the research behind this guide.
If the project uses a survey provider, compare the proposed scope with the question the team is trying to resolve. Check that the provider’s coverage, methods and deliverables are appropriate to the location and planned work; do not assume that a generic survey label guarantees a particular result. The cited HSE guidance supports considering underground services but does not verify a provider, accreditation, price or referral programme. Keep those checks project-specific.
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Keep investigation findings usable
Make findings accessible to the people making design and construction decisions. Record the date and scope of information, its limitations, and any actions still outstanding. If an investigation changes the understanding of a conflict, update the design information and risk register rather than leaving a superseded plan in circulation.
Carry the distinction between known and uncertain information into tender and construction planning. HSE advises using information available at tender to allow time and resources for problems. That means uncertainty should be visible to those estimating the work and setting the programme, rather than hidden in a drawing note that may not reach commercial or site teams.
Map each potential conflict against the proposed works
Overlay known apparatus and unresolved service areas against the full construction proposal. Include more than the finished building footprint: foundations, roads, drainage, temporary works, construction access and work sequencing can all create a conflict. Show the relationship clearly enough that designers and construction planners can see where information is reliable and where assumptions remain.
For each potential conflict, maintain a utility interface log. A useful project-control record includes:
- the apparatus or service and its owner or undertaker, if known;
- the location and the proposed work that may affect it;
- the evidence status: confirmed, assumed or unknown;
- the decision or information needed, and the person responsible for obtaining it;
- the undertaker and authority contacts, information exchanged and decisions received;
- the next action, its dependency, and the design, budget or programme item affected;
- the current option, estimate status, approval status and any residual uncertainty.
This is a recommended way to manage project information, not a prescribed statutory form in the sources cited here. Its purpose is to stop an unresolved question disappearing between the design, commercial, site and authority workstreams. Use the same record to show when a decision is still provisional, what evidence is missing, and what would trigger a review of the proposed response.
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Engage undertakers and highway authorities early
Make contact while there is still room to discuss the design, not only when a construction date is imminent. Share enough project information for the relevant parties to understand the location, nature and timing of the potential conflict. Ask what information they need to assess it, what options require consideration, what decisions or estimates remain outstanding, and whether planned work nearby creates a coordination opportunity. Record answers and follow-up actions; do not treat an initial discussion as approval of a design or price.
Early contact is not a promise that an undertaker will endorse a particular route, provide an immediate estimate or meet a project deadline. It is a way to expose information requirements and decisions while the client and design team still have choices. Track the date of each request and response, the assumptions used in any estimate, and the next action needed to turn a discussion into a dependable programme input.
For England, the Department for Transport describes the statutory street-works coordination framework: section 59 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (NRSWA) provides for coordination by authorities, while section 60 places a duty to cooperate on undertakers. The current DfT coordination page says its March 2026 code applies from 10 April 2026 and reflects changes to permit and overrun regimes. Consult the current DfT street-works coordination guidance for the England arrangements.
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As a practical coordination question, ask whether other planned works in the area could be aligned with the project. Shared information can help parties consider whether work can be coordinated rather than causing separate disruption or repeated reinstatement. Do not presume that nearby work will be available or that coordination will automatically reduce the project’s cost or duration; record it as an opportunity to investigate, with an owner and follow-up date.
Choose a response to each conflict, not a default diversion
Keep the design open long enough to compare feasible responses. A diversion is one possible outcome, not an automatic first step. Depending on the site and the asset owner’s assessment, a layout change or construction-method change may avoid the conflict; another option may involve protection or relocation. The sources cited here do not establish a universal legal hierarchy among these options or when an undertaker must accept a proposal. Assess the specific case with the project engineer, asset owner and relevant authority.
For each feasible option, compare the matters that can change the project outcome:
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- Permanent design: Does it require a change to the layout, foundations, drainage, road or other permanent work?
- Safety and construction risk: What work would take place near the apparatus, and what uncertainty remains?
- Time: What design, discussion, agreement and physical work must happen before the affected construction can proceed?
- Cost: What direct work and indirect delay or disruption exposure should be assessed? Is the figure an estimate or an agreed amount?
- Highway impact: Would work require highway occupation or create disruption, and what coordination is possible?
- Residual uncertainty: What still needs investigation, confirmation or approval before the option is dependable?
These are practical decision criteria, not a published scoring framework. A comparison is only useful if it distinguishes a confirmed decision from an assumption and identifies the party who can resolve each open point. Include the construction sequence in that comparison: an option that appears acceptable on a drawing may still affect site access, temporary works or the order of excavation.
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Build utility decisions into the programme and budget
There is no universal diversion duration or price supported by the sources cited here. Avoid inserting a generic lead time or allowance and presenting it as reliable for every project. Instead, build a project-specific sequence from the work still to be done and update it as information arrives.
Depending on the scheme, the sequence may need to account for:
- site information gathering and further investigation;
- design development and coordination with the undertaker;
- undertaker responses, estimates and outstanding decisions;
- highway or street-works coordination and any relevant permits or notices;
- physical work, including testing or commissioning where relevant;
- handover information and any subsequent design or construction release.
Make the relationship between each utility action and the construction programme explicit. For example, identify which design decision must be resolved before a layout is frozen, which work cannot proceed until a utility response or physical work is complete, and who owns the contingency if an assumption proves wrong. At tender, use the information available to allow time and resources for problems, as HSE advises in its construction planning guidance. That guidance supports realistic planning; it does not give a standard diversion lead time.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsBuild cost allowances from the current project information rather than a rule of thumb presented as universal. Separate what is known from what is still an estimate, and show the unresolved cost items alongside their assumptions and decision dependencies. If a diversion is only one possible option, avoid budgeting as though that option has already been agreed; conversely, do not remove a potential cost risk merely because the design team hopes to avoid the conflict. Review the allowance when new survey information, an undertaker estimate or a design decision changes the basis.
Keep the utility assumptions, estimates, approvals and dependencies visible in the project risk register, design information, budget and programme. That gives the client and delivery team a traceable record of why time or cost has been allowed, what is still uncertain, and what change would require contingency or a programme update. This is project-control advice, not a substitute for the scheme-specific legal and commercial assessment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep the diversion agreement separate from street-works permission
Do not treat a street-works permit as the agreement to divert apparatus. The physical diversion design and the undertaker’s position are separate questions from the highway or street-works arrangements for carrying out work. A project may need to resolve both, but one should not be assumed to settle the other.
The DfT’s street-works collection defines diversionary works as rerouting utility services and notes that they can be required for highway improvements. The current England coordination guidance describes coordination and changes to permit and overrun regimes, but the source set does not establish permit rules for every work type or all UK nations. Confirm the procedure for the actual location and work with the relevant authority and undertaker.
Who pays for a utility diversion?
Do not assume that either the project client or the undertaker always pays. The DfT street-works collection identifies Measures Necessary Where Apparatus Is Affected by Major Works (Diversionary Works) as the relevant specialist code, sold through TSO and not available electronically. The collection does not explain current project-by-project cost apportionment. The answer therefore needs to be confirmed against the current code status, applicable legislation, the undertaker’s estimate and the facts of the particular scheme before a budget or contractual commitment is made. See the DfT street-works collection.
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A 2004 Highways Agency interim advice note surfaced in historic material, but it is marked withdrawn and should not be relied on as current authority. Its historical status is recorded at Withdrawn IAN 59/04. Do not use an old note as a shortcut to a current answer about liability or recoverable costs.
Check which UK jurisdiction applies
The street-works coordination material cited above is DfT guidance for England. HSE’s construction planning guidance is relevant to construction planning, but the cited sources do not detail the separate legal and administrative contexts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Before relying on a procedure, confirm the applicable arrangements with the local authority and undertaker for the project’s actual location. Do not carry England-specific statutory or permit assumptions into another nation without checking them.
Pre-construction utility diversion checklist
- Define the project and construction boundary, including temporary works, access and any road or public-realm work.
- Gather and review available site, client, design, contract and health-and-safety information.
- Identify buried and overhead apparatus, then distinguish confirmed information from assumptions and unknowns.
- Set and commission suitable further investigation where records leave a material uncertainty.
- Map potential conflicts against foundations, drainage, roads, temporary works and construction sequencing.
- Identify the relevant undertaker and authority for each conflict; assign an owner for every open decision.
- Discuss the scheme early enough to compare avoidance, protection and relocation options and consider coordination opportunities.
- Record estimates, decisions, approvals, dependencies and residual uncertainty in design information, the project risk register, budget and programme.
- Confirm the current jurisdiction-specific street-works arrangements separately from the physical diversion design and agreement.
- Revisit the plan when investigation, design, authority or undertaker information changes.
For major highway schemes, consult the current status and availability of the specialist diversionary-works code identified by DfT rather than relying on withdrawn historical advice. No universal fee, duration or payer can be inferred from the general coordination guidance alone.
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Where are the underground services on my site?
Start with available client, design, contract, site and health-and-safety information, then compare it with the actual work area and sequence. Treat records as an input, not proof that every service has been found or plotted exactly. Where information leaves a material uncertainty, define suitable specialist investigation with competent providers; the method depends on the site and question.
Who should I contact about a utility diversion?
Identify the undertaker that owns or operates each affected apparatus and contact the relevant highway or local authority where road or street-works arrangements are involved. Share enough information for them to understand the location, proposed work and timing, and ask what they need to assess the conflict. A discussion with one party does not itself settle the other party’s decision or approve a design or price.
How early should I contact utility companies?
Contact affected undertakers during pre-construction, while layout, construction method and programme can still change. There is no universal notification period in the sources cited here. Early engagement helps expose information needs, estimates and possible coordination opportunities, but it does not guarantee a response time or approval.
How long does a utility diversion take, and what does it cost?
There is no universal duration or price supported by the cited guidance. Build project-specific time and cost allowances around the investigation, design coordination, undertaker decisions and estimates, relevant authority arrangements, physical works, and testing or handover where applicable. Track assumptions and update the programme and budget as decisions arrive.
Does a street-works permit approve the diversion?
No. The physical diversion design and the undertaker’s position are separate from highway or street-works arrangements for carrying out work. A project may need to resolve both. Confirm the procedure for the actual location and work with the relevant undertaker and authority.
Does a cable avoidance tool find every service or make excavation safe?
No such guarantee is supported here. A cable avoidance tool may be one element of competent investigation, but equipment alone does not establish that all services have been located or make excavation safe. Do not substitute a device reading for suitable specialist investigation, service-owner information or safe excavation procedures.
Do England’s street-works rules apply throughout the UK?
The DfT coordination sources cited here concern England. The reviewed material does not detail the separate legal and administrative contexts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Confirm the applicable arrangements with the local authority and undertaker for the project’s actual location.
The Bottom Line
Start before the design and programme are fixed: gather records, investigate uncertainty, map conflicts, and contact each relevant undertaker and authority early. Compare avoidance, protection and relocation options, then carry unresolved decisions into the design, risk register, budget and programme. Confirm the current rules for the project’s UK jurisdiction, and keep the diversion agreement distinct from any street-works permit or coordination process.
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