Utilities & Infrastructure
ABUK Group provides utilities and infrastructure consultancy for development projects
across London and southeast. Utility due diligence, diversions, incoming services design and site-wide infrastructure. Utility due diligence, incoming services design and site-wide infrastructure for development projects across London and the Southeast. Risks identified early. Costs controlled. Programmes protected.
At ABUK, utilities and infrastructure is not an afterthought. It is one of the highest-risk items on any development programme, and we engage it from day one.
Utility conflicts, unforeseen diversions and late incoming service connections are among the most common causes of programme delay and cost overrun on London development projects. A mains diversion not identified until demolition, or an incoming electrical connection that takes 18 months to agree with the DNO, can derail a project that is otherwise running to plan. ABUK provides a structured, senior-led utilities and infrastructure service designed to surface these risks as early as possible and manage them through to resolution.
We work across the full range of utility disciplines — water, gas, electricity, telecoms, drainage and heat networks — providing due diligence assessments, incoming service designs, diversion coordination and site-wide infrastructure design for new-build,
refurbishment and regeneration projects. Our utility work is fully coordinated with our MEP and sustainability teams, so that incoming service capacity, energy centre location, plant room sizing and utility routes are all considered together — not resolved in sequence after conflicts have already occurred.
Our approach is evidence-based and programme-aware. We engage utility companies and statutory undertakers early, track responses and consents, and manage the coordination required to keep your project moving. Whether you need a utility due diligence report at land acquisition stage or a full suite of incoming service designs through to adoption, ABUK provides a single, accountable point of contact across all
utility disciplines.
Early-stage due diligence:
Identify utility constraints, existing easements, and incoming service capacity at land acquisition or feasibility stage before costs are
committed and layouts are fixed.
Diversion and disconnection:
Manage the identification, design and procurement of utility diversions and disconnections, coordinated with demolition, enabling works and construction programmes.
Incoming services design:
Design and coordinate incoming supplies for water, gas, electricity, telecoms and district heating, including statutory authority
submissions and connection agreements.
Site-wide infrastructure:
Develop site-wide utility layouts, external lighting, EV charging infrastructure, data networks and drainage strategies integrated with the
wider project design.
01 Utility Due Diligence
Desktop utility search and records review
Site visit and existing services survey coordination
Identification of statutory easements and wayleaves
Utility risk register and constraints report
High-risk utility identification and clearance requirements
Utility due diligence report for land acquisition and planning
02 Incoming Services Design
Mains water incoming service design and Thames Water coordination
Gas incoming service design and National Grid / cadent liaison
Electrical incoming service design and DNO coordination
Telecoms infrastructure and Openreach coordination
Foul and surface water drainage coordination
Heat network incoming connection and energy centre interface
03 Diversion and Disconnection
Utility diversion feasibility and options appraisal
Diversion design and statutory authority submissions
Coordination of diversions with demolition and enabling works programme
Disconnection strategies and coordination with utility companies
S185 / S23 agreement management
04 Site-Wide Infrastructure Design
Site-wide electrical distribution design
External and amenity lighting design
EV charging infrastructure design (OZEV compliant)
Site-wide data and telecommunications network
District heating distribution system design
Drainage strategy and surface water management
Site CCTV system design
05 Land and Planning Support
Utility infrastructure capacity checks for planning applications
Ventilation statement and air quality assessment coordination
Energy statement (planning stage)
Sustainability statement (planning stage)
Overheating analysis support
Acoustic and vibration services coordination
Condition survey
Utility and infrastructure constraints are among the least visible risks on a development project and among the most disruptive when they emerge late. ABUK’s utility and infrastructure service is structured to eliminate that risk — not by transferring it to a specialist subcontractor, but by embedding it within the project team from the earliest stages. Our engineers understand the connection between utility capacity, energy strategy, building services design and planning compliance. That integration is what
makes the difference between a utilities report that sits in a folder and one that actively protects your programme and budget.