LandTech's Head of Research, Harry Quartermain, sat down with Dan Bridge, Business Development Manager at AtkinsRéalis utility solutions, to discuss the critical role of their Underground Utilities Reports in the early stages of land acquisition and development.
By bringing comprehensive, desktop-based utility searches to LandTech users, AtkinsRéalis is helping developers mitigate risks, save time, and gain delivery certainty.
Harry Quartermain: Dan, thank you for joining us. Can you introduce yourself and the role you undertake at AtkinsRéalis?
Dan Bridge: Certainly, Harry, it’s great to be here. I'm one of the Business Development Managers within AtkinsRéalis’ Utility Solutions business. We’re a niche practice based in Bristol specialising in utility information and consultancy for the whole of the UK. For 18 years, we’ve focused on how to manage and mitigate the risks associated with utilities for everything from small housing projects to large-scale infrastructure and renewable schemes.
Harry Quartermain: For the uninitiated, when you talk about utilities, what exactly are we discussing here?
Dan Bridge: We’re talking about managing and mitigating the risks surrounding buried utility assets. Our process is primarily focused on the identification of these assets via a desktop-based utility search. We go out to all known providers, collect the plans, and package that information for our clients.
We typically search around six main asset categories:
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Electric: Including low, high, and extra-high voltage information.
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Gas: Focusing on high-pressure gas mains, as well as medium and low pressure.
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Water Assets: Potable (drinking) water, and foul and surface water.
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Fibre Companies: Not just the main ones, but also the more obscure, new fibre companies popping up everywhere.
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High Risk Assets: Things like pipelines, which are sometimes overlooked.
Harry Quartermain: So what exactly is in the AtkinsRéalis Utilities Report that is available to procure through LandInsight?
Dan Bridge: What we offer is a fully comprehensive desktop-based utility search report. It’s completed in accordance with industry best practice, specifically PAS128: 2022, which is a Level D desktop study. When you procure a report, you’re getting peace of mind that you have a full, comprehensive search of all known asset owners within a specified area, along with their individual asset plans.
Harry Quartermain: And why are developers making the choice to take on this information so early?
Dan Bridge: It's a key part of the pre-planning and early land appraisal stages. You want to understand the proximity of existing utilities for future connections, any high- risk assets, major diversions, or shortfalls in the availability of particular utilities that could lead to costly redesigns or program delays later on. The later you find an issue, the more expensive it becomes.
We strongly advise developers to get this information during the feasibility to pre-planning stage. Engaging early with asset owners can reveal the true scale of diversions and any capacity issues. Utility problems can severely affect your program and costs if left unresolved until the outline design stage.
Harry Quartermain: How does a major utility constraint impact site design and viability?
Dan Bridge: The presence of major assets can significantly lower your development yield and reduce delivery certainty. For instance, if you have a water trunk main that cannot be diverted due to legal requirements, our report allows you to design around it, perhaps by creating a green space or a road corridor over the asset, rather than being surprised later. You don't want to purchase or bid for a site where assets will eat away at your yield, lower the return on investment, and potentially compromise scheme viability.
Harry Quartermain: Is there a hierarchy of ‘red flag’ assets that cause the most severe delays and constraints?
Dan Bridge: Yes, definitely. We'd say the very high-risk assets are:
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High voltage or extra high voltage electrical assets.
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High pressure gas mains or pipelines, especially in urban areas.
Diverting these assets can be extremely complex. This timeline is not just the asset owner’s process; it can also involve consulting local councils for permits, like closing a road, which adds extra cost and time to your program.
Harry Quartermain: We're talking about a desktop survey. To what extent does poor data quality limit the certainty of the report?
Dan Bridge: Incomplete or inaccurate utility records are a challenge. Some asset owners still provide hand-drawn plans from the 1940s or crudely drawn scanned images, which are difficult for non-experts to interpret. One of the key benefits of the data we provide through the LandInsight platform is that it’s cleaned, structured and standardised, making it far easier for developers to quickly understand what constraints may exist on a site and factor those into early decisions.
We always stress that the desktop search is a prerequisite for further on-site surveying techniques, like trial holes or geophysical methods. You cannot be 100% certain based solely on the desktop search, but it provides the essential foundation.
Harry Quartermain: Finally, AtkinsRéalis has partnered with LandTech, providing access to your reports via LandInsight. How does this partnership simplify the process for developers?
Dan Bridge: We’re extremely excited about our partnership. It’s a first-in-platform experience where users can view our utilities data directly alongside other key data sets like planning and environmental information.
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