Street works compliance is tightening. Here's how to stay ahead.

Street works are no longer just a scheduling challenge—they’re now a high-cost compliance risk.

In the past three years, the UK’s regulatory landscape has shifted dramatically. Non-compliance now carries real financial weight: up to £10,000 per day for permit overruns, and £1,000 fines for working without valid permits. For companies managing thousands of permits, the cumulative exposure runs into the millions.

What’s changed—and what’s at stake

Between 2022 and 2025, the UK government introduced tighter enforcement rules aimed at cutting congestion and raising street work standards:

• Higher FPNs: Paperwork errors or breaches of permit conditions can cost £240–£1,000 per incident.
  
• Expanded overrun charges: Daily Section 74 charges now apply seven days a week—including weekends and bank holidays.
  
• Performance-based inspections: High failure rates trigger more inspections, more fees, and greater scrutiny.
  
  

One missed permit renewal. One late notification. That’s all it takes to trigger cascading costs—and those costs are escalating.

The hidden cost of manual processes

Despite these risks, many teams still manage permits manually—copying data between internal systems, Street Manager, Excel trackers, and emails. It’s a setup prone to error, delay, and duplication.

Even small breakdowns—missed start notices, unlogged variations, incomplete reinstatement records—can lead to hefty fines or rejected permits.

And while the Department for Transport mandates use of Street Manager, its native interface isn’t built for high-volume users. That’s where Cogna comes in.

How Cogna helps: direct integration with Street Manager

Cogna helps utility and infrastructure companies automate permit workflows, eliminate admin drag, and prevent compliance failures—by connecting their systems directly to the Street Manager API.

We remove the friction:

• No more triple data entry: Permit forms are pre-filled from your existing systems. Teams only review and approve.
  
• Real-time visibility: Get alerts when a permit is updated, refused, or approaching expiry—no need to chase status.
  
• Built-in compliance tracking: Catch permit risks before they trigger £1,000 fines or £10k/day overruns.
  
• Evidence capture: Attach reinstatement photos and close-out data in one place to reduce inspection failures.
  
  

The result: faster submissions, reduced admin costs, and fewer compliance gaps.

October 2025: one more reason to act now

New rules taking effect in October require desktop hazardous material risk assessments for all excavation permits. These assessments take 45–120 minutes each—and apply across thousands of jobs.

Without automation, this could add tens of thousands of hours in overhead. Cogna supports this new requirement by streamlining the classification process and helping teams stay compliant—without the additional workload.

Final word

The UK’s new street works regime is clear: time is money, and errors are expensive.

If your team is still relying on spreadsheets, email threads, or chasing portal updates—now’s the time to act. Cogna helps you stay compliant, reduce risk, and reclaim valuable staff time.

We make Street Manager work for your business.

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