Public space is the freely accessible part of the built environment: streets, pavements, squares, parks, green areas, play areas and public water. In practice, everything that is not behind a property boundary or a facade belongs to it.
Public space is almost always owned by the local authority, sometimes by a highways agency or water authority. That means you cannot simply place, dig up or alter anything there as a private individual — not even directly in front of your own house.
What it contains
From top to bottom:
- Surfacing — asphalt, clay pavers, concrete blocks, paving slabs.
- Trees and planting — with root zones that often reach up to just below the paving.
- Street furniture — lamp columns, benches, bollards, signage, bins.
- Buried services — sewers, water mains, gas, electricity, telecoms. Under an average street run the assets of five to ten different utility companies.
That buried layer is exactly why digging in public space is never casual. Before any excavation, obtain utility drawings from the relevant network operators and hand-dig trial holes to confirm what is actually there.
What this means for a building project
Almost every project touches public space:
- Skip or site cabin on the street — this needs a permit from the local authority. Fees vary widely and typically run from a few tens to a few hundred pounds or euros.
- Scaffold over the pavement — usually a licence in its own right, plus the requirement that pedestrians can pass safely alongside or underneath.
- Reserving parking bays — normally a separate application, submitted several working days in advance.
- New or widened vehicle crossing — almost always needs a specific consent; the authority often carries out the work itself or sets the specification.
- Overhanging planting — branches and hedges growing over the boundary onto the pavement may be cut back by the authority.
Practical tip: apply well ahead. Several weeks of processing time is realistic. A skip that is already standing while the application is still running will earn you an enforcement notice.
Design and maintenance
Local authorities usually design public space using their own public realm manuals, built on national highway and streetscape guidance. Current themes are climate adaptation (less hard surfacing, more infiltration), accessibility (tactile paving, dropped kerbs) and road safety.
Related terms
- Development plan
- Planning permission
- Infiltration
- Scaffolding
- Property boundary
Learn more about building terms in our knowledge base at fredsdiyplans.com.