A route, not just a gate
What information helps a contractor assess site access?
The narrowest clear width, known overhead restrictions, turns, surface changes and the route from the road to the work area are useful starting points. A gate measurement alone is not a machine-fit test. The contractor must review the actual equipment and load, manoeuvring space, ground conditions and how people and deliveries will be managed.
Prepare the evidence
What do you already know?
Use only information you can obtain from a safe, accessible position. Do not enter active work areas, approach operating plant or measure near overhead cables. Leave anything uncertain for the contractor to inspect.
No address, upload or account required.
Why a width is not a green light.
The route can be the constraint
A measured opening may lead to a tight turn, a different surface or a restricted working area. Attachments, loads, operating configuration and delivery vehicles also matter. This page deliberately gives no minimum access width, machine recommendation, clearance margin or pass/fail result.
A useful photo set
From safe, permitted positions, show the approach from the road, the entrance, the full route and the destination. Add close views of any known pinch points or changes of level. Keep measurements separate from guesses. Do not move barriers, enter a live site or approach an overhead hazard to improve the brief.
What the contractor still needs to confirm
The site assessment must consider vehicle and load dimensions, movement and working space, surface suitability, visibility and the interaction with people. HSE’s guidance highlights these factors and the need to plan construction traffic. Read HSE’s vehicles-and-loads guidance. Read HSE’s construction traffic-management guidance. Read HSE’s route-layout guidance.
Send the brief before a site visit or delivery is arranged. It is an information record, not a risk assessment, traffic-management plan, excavation method or approval to bring plant onto the property.