From Your Local Experts
Whether you’re at the acquisition, feasibility, design, or construction stage, knowing exactly what’s underground is essential for safety, compliance, and avoiding costly delays.
Cornerstone Projects provides underground utility searches in Liverpool, delivering accurate and compliant utility mapping services for construction, engineering, and development projects. Our experienced surveyors carry out PAS 128 utility surveys in Liverpool, helping clients identify buried services safely, reduce risk, and avoid costly delays.
Whether you require underground utility mapping in Liverpool for pre-construction planning or full utility searches for construction, we tailor our surveys to suit your project requirements.
Our team takes care of the process for you: we liaise directly with all the relevant Liverpool utility providers and compile a clear, comprehensive pack of plans and data for your site. This gives you the accurate information you need to proceed with confidence.
We regularly carry out underground utility surveys across Liverpool and surrounding areas including Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and the wider Merseyside region. Our local knowledge ensures fast mobilisation and accurate results for commercial and infrastructure projects.
With our utility searches you will enjoy:
- Free 24/7 instant quotes
- 24/7 online ordering
- UK’s most comprehensive online utilities search
- Fast response times
- Professional pdf search reports
- 30-day payments on account
- Free telephone support
- Prices from £58+vat (plus disbursements)
Pricing
Our fee for this starts at £58.00 + VAT + disbursements per utility – we will confirm the cost with you by email before proceeding. The disbursements per search are typically £30 – £270 in total depending on the site location and your search requirements – the actual costs will be confirmed to you by email as soon as we process the enquiry. Searches over a large area (typically more than 200m x 200m) are not covered by our basic charge – we will confirm costs for these with you prior to proceeding with any searches.
We offer a full online solution that will take you less than 5 minutes to request a utility search. Simply register/login and provide the following information to place an order or receive a FREE quotation. The website will allow you to draw a site boundary using Google Maps
- The website will allow you to double check you have the right location using Streetmap.
- You have the option to attach a plan showing the marked area you wish to search.
Choose the search options you wish
- Our basic search includes issuing plans as hard copies and .pdf files and this search covers gas, electric, water, sewer, BT and oil/gas pipelines.
- There are further options for a more comprehensive search including searches for IU’s (Independent Utilities) and cable/fibre companies
- We also offer a search to determine whether your site may be affected by historical mine workings. If it is, you will have the opportunity to purchase a Consultant’s report produced by the Mining Remediation Authority. Find out more about the search here.
- You can also opt for a tailor-made search.
- We also offer additional services such as utility connections quotes, disconnections/diversions quotes, capacity checks and Section 50 applications that you may wish to add to your order.
- There are various help and information pages on the website form to explain the search options available.
Choose your payment options
- Payment options are credit and debit card as well as 30 day “on account” payments.
- By completing and submitting the website form, you will be provided with an estimated price on screen and the confirmed price will be emailed to you within 30 minutes.
- If you have requested a quote only, we will wait for your approval before proceeding. On approval, we commence your search the very same working day.
PAS 128 Utility Surveys in Liverpool
Accurate, trustworthy reports are critical for ensuring the health and safety of workers and the public, as well as for preventing costly delays and disruptions. At Cornerstone Projects, we provide PAS 128 compliant utility searches — the current industry standard for underground utility detection, verification and location. Developed through a collaboration between the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), PAS 128 sets out a rigorous, consistent approach to mapping underground utilities. By complying with the PAS 128 specification, we ensure that the utility information we supply is accurate, reliable and consistent. This removes the element of uncertainty and interpretation often found in traditional utility searches and reduces the variable risk to contractors and project managers when referring to the data. PAS 128 defines four levels of survey category, each offering a different degree of detail and confidence:
- PAS 128 Survey Category Type D – Desktop utility records search
- PAS 128 Survey Category Type C – Site reconnaissance using visible utility features
- PAS 128 Survey Category Type B – Detection using geophysical techniques
- PAS 128 Survey Category Type A – Verification via safe excavation
By working to PAS 128 standards, Cornerstone Projects helps clients reduce risk, avoid unexpected underground hazards, and complete works safely and efficiently. To learn more about PAS 128 and what each survey type involves, please visit the official PAS 128 website.
What is a utility search?
A utility search is the process of locating and identifying underground services such as electricity cables, gas pipes, water mains, sewers, and telecoms. In Liverpool, where waterfront regeneration, city centre redevelopment, and construction projects are ongoing across the city and wider Merseyside region, this information is vital for safe and efficient project planning.
Why are utility searches important in Liverpool?
Liverpool has a complex network of underground utilities due to its long history as a major port and industrial city. Utility searches help prevent accidents, costly delays, and unexpected repairs. By knowing the exact location of buried services, contractors working on projects in areas like the Baltic Triangle, the Docklands, or the city centre can avoid damaging them during excavation. This not only saves time and money but also helps keep workers and the public safe.
How much does a utility search cost in Liverpool?
The cost of a utility search varies depending on the size and location of the site, as well as the number of utility providers involved. Cornerstone Projects offers competitive rates for Liverpool projects, starting at just **£58.00 + VAT** (plus disbursements).
How long does a utility search take?
A basic search generally takes about 3-4 working days in Liverpool. For more complex or larger city-centre projects, we ensure all relevant providers are included for complete accuracy.
Why Choose Us?
With years of experience working across Liverpool and the wider Merseyside region, we’ve built strong relationships with local utility providers. This allows us to carry out underground utility searches quickly, accurately, and professionally — helping projects move forward without unnecessary delays.
We know that time is critical for developments in busy areas such as Liverpool City Centre, the Baltic Triangle, and the Docklands , which is why we provide a single point of contact for all your utility surveying needs.
All results can be presented in the format that works best for your project, including detailed 2D AutoCAD drawings. These give you a clear, combined plan of all underground services on your Liverpool site, offering a complete overview before any work begins.
Our pricing for this service starts at just £58.00 + VAT (plus disbursements), and we’ll confirm the exact cost with you via email before proceeding.
For more information, download a free sample report today.
PAS 128 Compliant
We provide PAS 128 compliant searches, the industry standard for accuracy and reliability, reducing risk on your projects.
Fast & Efficient
Our streamlined online system and established relationships with utility companies ensure a fast, professional turnaround.
Single Point of Contact
Simplify your workflow. We manage all inquiries on your behalf, providing a single, expert point of contact for all your needs.
Local Stats & Insights
We have extensive experience working on projects across the UK.
- A basic search is currently taking 1-2 working days and a full cable and independent utilities search is roughly 8 working days.
- We also have over 120 commercial client users on our books currently based in Liverpool, some doing searches locally and others covering the whole of the UK.
- Did you know we have completed over 135 searches with a Liverpool postcode in the last 12 months.
- For the past 8 years we have also covered Highways searches on the surrounding motorways to Liverpool. All in all we have everything covered in Liverpool!
Interesting facts about Liverpool
1. Calderstones Park: Is home to six Neolithic sandstone blocks known as the Calder Stones, believed to predate Stonehenge by thousands of years.
2. Home of the Murder Mystery Weekend: Currently completing her 140th plot-line, Liverpool novelist Joy Swift from Blundellsands invented the murder mystery weekend back in 1981, which has since become a global phenomenon!
3. RSPCA: The RSPCA was founded on Bold Street in 1809, making the Liverpool branch the longest-running animal charity in the world.
4. National Museums Liverpool: You’ll find the greatest variety of historic paintings, specimens, objects, and over 80,000 artefacts – from a Titanic lifejacket to Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Anglo-Saxon collections – held under single ownership in the entire country at National Museums Liverpool.
5. European Capital of Culture: In 2008, Liverpool became the first English city to be named European Capital of Culture, generating over £750 million for the local economy.
6. Birthplace of Rail Travel: In September 1830, the world’s first inter-city passenger railway opened, connecting Liverpool’s Crown Street to Manchester’s Liverpool Road.
7. Public Monuments: 2,500 listed buildings and 250 public monuments in the city make it the largest collection of Grade One listed properties, with more national museums and galleries than any city outside London!
8. Liverpool John Lennon Airport: Was the UK’s first provincial airport, opening on 1 July 1933.
9. Pioneers in Tropical Medicine: Founded in November 1898 by shipping magnate, Sir Alfred Lewis Jones, Liverpool’s overseas trade resulted in the outbreak of tropical diseases. Sir Alfred donated £350 to establish the world’s first School of Tropical Medicine to research these outbreaks, and LSTM has led cutting-edge research and teaching ever since, including finding the link between malaria and mosquito bites.
10. Britain’s Largest Cathedral: Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral is the largest cathedral in Britain and the fifth largest in Europe, completed in 1978.
The main utility plan providers in Liverpool are
