4.11 Services and Utilities
Related SPD sections • 4 6 Paving Materials
Key City Plan policies
17. Community Infrastructure and Facilities
19. Digital Infrastructure
35. Flood Risk
37. Waste Management
The City Plan requires new infrastructure and facilities to be of a nature and scale to meet identified need and be sufficiently flexible to meet the requirements of providers as they may change over time.
Context
Coordinated facilities, services and utilities play a vital role for the successful operation of the city. When street-based infrastructure provision is not coordinated, this can create major nuisances to all public realm users. The City Council will work with applicants and infrastructure providers to coordinate and enhance infrastructure provision
The City Council’s Draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan sets out our approach to the delivery of infrastructure to support future growth in the city
Different organisations have responsibility for different utilities’ infrastructure in the public realm.
Statutory
Undertakers – Water, Gas, Power, and Digital Infrastructure providers
Statutory undertakers supply water, gas, electricity, and digital/telecommunications infrastructure. These organisations, including 72 Thames Water and UKPN, have a legal right under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, to dig up the road to maintain their existing infrastructure, pipes, and cables, and to install new ones.
The City Council has a duty to coordinate the work of the statutory undertakers, and its permit schemes require anyone wishing to carry out work on the highway to coordinate and approve the methodology and timing of their work in advance. For minor works, the statutory undertaker must send the council a daily list of where works will take place. For other works it must give notice, the bigger the work the longer the notice.
Undertakers have a general duty to co-operate. Under the New Roads and Street Works Act:
(1) An undertaker shall as regards the execution of street works use his best endeavours to co-operate with the street authority and with other undertakers:
(a) in the interests of safety,
(b) to minimise the inconvenience to persons using the street (having regard, in particular, to the needs of people with a disability), and
(c) to protect the structure of the street and the integrity of apparatus in it.
The City Council will continue to coordinate the work of the statutory undertakers and has been successful in persuading some companies to work together and lay several cables in one trench.
Some works cannot safely take place together and sometimes due to the location of each company’s equipment in the street, the space they need to occupy to let them work together would be more disruptive.
City Plan Policy 45 states that work to basement vaults can restrict the space available for services in the highway and may make it difficult to access cables, pipes, sewers, etc. for maintenance and to provide essential items of street furniture.
In order to ensure that services and essential street furniture can be provided, adequate space must be available between the highway and any excavation proposed under the highway.
Applications adjacent to or affecting the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) or public transport infrastructure should seek advice from Transport for London.
In order to help minimise disruption to newly delivered schemes, the City Council serves a special legal notice on all the statutory undertakers who work in Westminster, to prevent them from digging up newly resurfaced road/paving for the next 3 years after the works have been completed. Exceptions apply for emergencies and for new services to customers. Under the terms of the Act 73, it is the duty of the undertaker by whom street works are executed to reinstate the street, as soon after the completion of any part of the street works as is reasonably practicable.
Under the New Roads and Street Works Act undertakers also have a duty to maintain apparatus to the reasonable satisfaction of:
(a) the street authority, as regards the safety and convenience of persons using the street (having regard, in particular, to the needs of people with a disability), the structure of the street and the integrity of apparatus of the authority in the street, and
(b) any other relevant authority, as regards any land, structure or apparatus of theirs; and he shall afford reasonable facilities to each such authority for ascertaining whether it is so maintained
The consent of the street authority (WCC or TfL) is required for the placing of apparatus by an undertaker in a protected street 74 as defined in the NRSWA legislation: New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 (legislation.gov.uk)
Services and Utilities Guidance
A. Wherever possible works should be coordinated between statutory undertakers to minimise disruption
B. Utilities companies should plan ahead and inform the council of planned works to allow for combined works
C. Where unplanned urgent works are carried out, consideration should be given to including other, planned, statutory works.
D. The City Council expects the highway to be returned to its former condition or improved, rather than be left piecemeal.
E. Following statutory works, any electrical item must remain easily accessible to maintain and repair, including cabling.
F. Power feeds need to be in appropriately sized enclosure to meet the DNO's requirements and British Standards for clear zones for safety.
G. Items outside contract rates, i.e. any non-standard items which are not already included in the City Council’s listed contract rates, will need to have commuted sums applied over a specified duration period for that asset
H. In line with TfL Streetscape Guidance, coloured surfacing should not be applied at locations with a high density of utilities or where one or several utility companies have a high rate of attendance and trenching
I. Access chambers and manhole covers should be positioned in a location that minimises physical and visual disruption.
TfL’s Streetscape Guidance provides advice on inset covers, where high quality materials are used and in areas with tactile paving: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/streetscape-guidance-.pdf (section 7.5)
See https://www.westminster.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads-and-highways/street-works-faqs for further information.
Public Conveniences
As set out in the Mayor’s London Plan, public toilets are especially important for certain groups including disabled people, older people, people with babies and young children and pregnant women, as well as tourists and visitors who may be less familiar with their surroundings. They can increase footfall and dwell time, giving visitors the confidence to spend more time in the city. Conversely, a lack of public conveniences can impact visitors' choice to travel into the city 24-hour accessible public toilets can encourage visitors through the evening, supporting Westminster’s night-time economy.
The City Council’s Strategy for public conveniences provided by the City Council, was agreed in July 2023. The principles apply to both City Council as well as externally provided public conveniences. These should be well-designed, safeguarding the vulnerable, and accessible, to enhance the experiences of people coming to the City.
Public Conveniences Guidance
A. Public conveniences should seek to be inclusive and accessible to all visitors and their requirements.
B. Provision should seek to cater for women, men, non-gender specific and accessibility friendly toilets and baby changing and family rooms.
C. Changing Places toilets should be considered in addition to standard and accessible toilets, where possible
D. Anti-social behaviour (ASB) and safety considerations should be of paramount importance when considering the placement, including orientation and visibility of entrances, of public conveniences.
E. They should be placed in locations where there is expected pedestrian footfall.
F. Public conveniences should seek to incorporate devices enabling usage of facilities and surrounding footfall counts.
G. Public conveniences should be of durable and seek to have an appropriate management plan to limit the impact of ASB.
H. Where new public conveniences are provided, designers should seek to integrate them into multifunctional installations
I. Where there is increased demand or where permanent facilities become temporarily unavailable, the provision of accessible toilets should be sought in temporary roll-outs
J. Provision must be made for the ongoing maintenance and cleaning of public conveniences for the duration of their placement
K. The onus will be on the developer to undertake the necessary compliance and health and safety checks. The liability for these assets will lay with the developer.
L. Developers will need to work with the City Council’s Public Conveniences Service to ensure proposals and management, maintenance and cleansing plans align with our contracts for cleansing, compliance and maintenance.
Figure 65: Example of inclusive and accessible public conveniences.
To find where public conveniences are located in Westminster, please visit: Public toilets | Westminster City Council
Wastewater Drainage and flood risk management: Context
The City Council is the Lead Local Flood Authority responsible for managing the risk of flooding from surface water, groundwater, and ordinary watercourses. Thames Water as the wastewater company is responsible for sewer flooding, and The Environment Agency is responsible for managing the risk of flooding from the River Thames.
The council’s “Strategic Flood Risk Assessment” (SFRA) provides an assessment of all sources of flooding, taking account of the impacts of climate change. Areas of the City Council sit within recognised flood risk zones. These, alongside blocked drainage assets and increased rainfall arising from climate change, can contribute to the increased risk of localised flooding.
Effective rainwater management is essential for the operation of the public realm. The risk of surface water flooding is growing. The way we plan, implement, and manage our drainage and flood risk infrastructure must be adaptable to changing climate conditions.
The City Council maintains a schedule of drain cleaning to prevent localised flooding. Gully cleansing is carried out through the City Council’s Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) Programme, supplemented by reactive maintenance, however increased rainfall and extreme weather events require a proactive approach to flood management, with a range of options implemented to reduce occurrences of flooding in Westminster.
The City Council’s maintains a proactive ‘Drainage Improvement Programme’ where gulley outlet conditions are surveyed and where needed, repaired, to prevent defects, ensuring the risk of drainage issues and flooding is minimised.
Guidance
For specific guidance on Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS ) see Chapter 4.3 Green and Blue Infrastructure above Wastewater Drainage and Flood Risk Management Guidance
H. Surfaces should we well-drained to minimise the risk of surface water flooding.
I. Natural drainage in the public realm is encouraged.
J. All existing flood management infrastructure will be protected including access for maintenance.
K. Developers must comply with drainage hierarchy as set out in the Mayor’s London Plan
L. Cycle friendly gully covers should not be installed in low-risk areas as defined as:
o Inside parking bays
o Adjacent to parking bays
o Adjacent to build outs
M. Wherever possible, an undeveloped buffer zone of 16 metres should be maintained around flood defence structures, including buried elements of the flood defence.
TfL’s Streetscape Guidance sets out the types of drainage systems in use in London, and their design and layout requirements It includes guidance on the design requirements of kerbs and gullies, drainage pipes and attenuation tanks, amongst others, to “mitigate the impact of current and future climatic conditions by assessing, managing and minimising risk through good design”.
Drain and inspection covers
Utilities companies own most of the drain and inspection covers in the public realm.
Utility companies own the majority of ironwork that appears on the public highway and are responsible for the maintenance of their inspection covers. A small proportion are owned by the highway authority, and these relate to traffic signalling, drainage and CCTV surveillance equipment. Where the highway authority replaces the utility company standard cover with a bespoke inset cover, the highway authority assumes the maintenance responsibility for that cover.
Westminster’s 2023 ‘Drainage Design and Construction Guide for Highways Drainage’ document provides guidance on the design standards that are to be adopted for the planning, design, maintenance, and improvement and highway drainage infrastructure within the City of Westminster (WCC), based on existing national standards, published strategy, industry best practice guidance and Westminster guidance, to ensure that drainage systems within Westminster are adequately designed, specified and constructed within the constraints of the city ’s infrastructure, historical design standards used for existing infrastructure and good practice.
Smart Technologies linked to Services and Utilities
The use of smart devices on our infrastructure assets will be used where appropriate, to provide real time data to assist and improve our services, and enable proactive maintenance, for example cleaning gullies in advance of anticipated rainfall, in response to and to prevent patterns in localised flooding.
Digital Infrastructure
The Electronic Communications Code 75 is a set of rights that are designed to facilitate the installation and maintenance of electronic communications networks. It provides a statutory basis whereby communications providers can place their Apparatus on land or buildings owned by another person or organisation, to ensure that their services are provided where they are needed. Electronic communications services, including internet and mobile phone services, are considered essential services.
The Code confers “code rights” on a person with Code powers to:
• Install, keep, inspect, maintain and operate electronic communications apparatus on, under or over the land;
• carry out any works on the land to enable apparatus to be installed and gain access to land to maintain or operate the apparatus;
• construct and maintain electronic communications networks and infrastructure (such as ducts, cabinets and poles) on public highways without the need to obtain a street works licence to undertake such works;
• construct communications infrastructure which is classified as ‘permitted developments’ under Town and Country Planning legislation (such as certain types of masts, poles and cabinets) without the need to apply for planning permission;
• connect to a power supply;
• interfere with or obstruct a means of access to or from the land (whether or not any electronic communications apparatus is on, under or over the land); and
• lop or cut back any tree or other vegetation that could interfere with apparatus.
75 The Electronic Communications Code is set out in Schedule 3A of the Communications Act 2003: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/schedule/3A
The government’s UK Digital Strategy 76 sets out the importance of providing world class digital infrastructure to improve connectivity. The continued growth and success of Westminster’s economy is dependent on securing access to digital infrastructure. Investment in digital and telecommunications infrastructure will be supported here. The council has put in place a concession framework for the installation of 5G infrastructure on highway street lighting assets where safe to attach to.
Westminster City Plan Policy 19 requires applications for new apparatus such as boxes that enable the roll out of 5G 77 to seek to minimise unnecessary and visually obtrusive clutter of the public realm.
Ofcom’s ‘Electronic Communications Code of Practice’ has been established under the Digital Economy Act to support the Electronic Communications Code, designed to facilitate the installation and maintenance of electronic communications equipment. It sets out expectations to reduce clutter and improve the experience of pedestrians and other highway uses and the quality of the public realm, and the stages for reaching agreement on the installation of new apparatus.
All traffic signal works within London are managed by Transport for London
With the closure of telephone exchanges over the next 10-15 years, the number of cabinets on the street is likely to increase.
Digital Telecommunications Guidance:
A. Investment in digital and telecommunications infrastructure for public benefit within the public realm will be supported where it does not impact on movement within the public realm, and only where the benefits of the new infrastructure are considered by the City Council to outweigh any negative impacts on local character, heritage assets, or the quality of the public realm.
B. All electrical supplies to street furniture must be provided by the current appointed Electricity Network Management organisation (currently UKPN). No other body is currently permitted to work on or connect to the electricity network without both UKPN and WCC’s approval.
C. Opportunities for co-location, shared facilities, and innovations such as smart street furniture, referred to as multifunctional minor structures by British Standards Institute, should be explored where new digital and telecommunications infrastructure is proposed.
D. New standalone apparatus will only be supported where all reasonable options for sharing existing facilities, or the use of less obtrusive locations, have been ruled out as impracticable.
E. Equipment that is no longer required must be removed. Powered equipment must be removed at the cost of the asset owner.
F. Any electrical item needs to be easily accessible to maintain and repair, including cabling. Power feeds need to be in appropriately sized enclosure to meet the DNO's requirements and British Standards for clear zones for safety. Items outside contract rates need to be formally agreed with the council will require commuted sums to cover 25 year period. There are also earthing requirements when near other powered furniture
Links and Related Documents and Strategies
• London Sustainable Drainage Action Plan 2016.
Cross-Reference:
• Chapter 4.5 Street Furniture Guidance in this SPD
• Chapter 4.1 Highways space / Carriageway space / Parking Guidance in this SPD
• Chapter 4.3 Green Infrastructure Guidance in this SPD
• Section 3 Equality, Accessibility, and Inclusion in the Public Realm in this SPD
Sources:
76 UK Digital Strategy Policy paper: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-strategy
77 And other related technological advances. 5G is the fifth generation of mobile phone technology, bringing greater speed, capacity, and functionality to mobile services.
• WCC Draft Infrastructure Delivery Plan 2019-2040: https://www.westminster.gov.uk/media/document/ev-gen-007 draft-infrastructure-delivery-plan
• HM Government 5G mobile technology: a guide: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/202065/5g -guide.pdf
• Ofcom ’s ‘Electronic Communications Code Code of Practice’: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/108790/ECC-Code-of-Practice.pdf
• For drainage see Streetscape Guidance 2022
• https://www.local.gov.uk/topics/severe-weather/flooding/sustainable-drainage-systems
• https://www.susdrain.org/delivering-SuDS/
Regulations/Legislation:
• New Roads and Street Works Act 1991
• The Electronic Communications Code is set out in Schedule 3A of the Communications Act 2003: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/schedule/3A
• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-digital-strategy
• https://content.tfl.gov.uk/sustainable-urban-drainage-november-2016.pdf