Accreditation required for excavating the highway

To protect the quality of the highways network the Council requires any contractor excavating the highway to hold the appropriate qualifications for the work being undertaken

Street works qualifications register SWQR

For works involving excavation of the highway contractors must be Street Works Accredited and have a valid SWQR card for both the supervisor and the operative(s). The supervisor and operative must be separate people within the organisation.

The Supervisor is not required to be on site, but must be available for consultation. A qualified operative must be on site who may, or may not, be working with other employees who are not required to be accredited.

If you do not have a SWQR card then you are not qualified to carry out the works.

Checking cards on site

Operative cards should be available for inspection on site.  Where staff have recently retaken and passed the SWQR accreditation an official letter from the training body stating this will suffice for the following 6 months.

Type of qualification required

SWQR cards must be current and include the required qualifications for the type of work being undertaken.

  • If excavation is less than 2 square metres, the reinstatement can be done in cold lay materials. Check the back of the card for the cold-lay qualification.
  • If excavation is more than 2 square metres, the reinstatement must be done in hot lay materials. Check the back of the hot-lay qualification.
  • If excavation is in a concrete slabs. Check the back of the card for the concrete qualification(s).
  • If excavation is in a modular surface (brick paving, pavement slabs). Check the back of the card for modular surfaces qualification.
Example Streetworks cards

Below is an example of how the new SWQR card will look, the old style cards are very similar. The same checks apply to all SWQR card types.

Examples of Streetworks Accreditation

Further information

Full guidance on Streetworks qualifications for operatives and supervisors can be found on the central government web pages.