General Attachment Applications
If you are applying to attach hanging baskets, festive decorations or hanging baskets to street lights please follow the process on our dedicated pages. For all other attachments, including CCTV, Neighbourhood Watch signs and traffic survey cameras, please follow the process explained below.
Stage 1
Before you make your stage 1 application to attach to street lights check you have . . .
1. The correct Southampton Highways permission?
Before starting your SSE Festive Lighting Application please ensure you have the correct permission from Southampton Highways. We cannot process your application without Southampton Highways application approval first. You will need to supply a copy of your Southampton Highways licence to us with your SSE application.
2. A signed SSE Consent Form and Third Party Attachment Agreement?
This should be completed and signed by the applicant. Please complete the yellow sections on the form.
You can download the forms for a Third Party Attachment Agreement here.
3. A map showing column locations and numbers?
Please ensure that the column locations are clearly marked and up to date column numbers are given. You can find an up to date map of our column locations here.
4. A detailed specification of the proposed attachment.
Please supply the weight, dimensions, proposed mounting height and fixing method.
5. An image or diagram of the proposed attachment and fixings.
6. A copy of your £10M public liability insurance?
7. An Unmetered Supply Agreement?
If your proposed attachment uses power from the street light you will need an unmetered supply agreement. This is an agreement between you and the power company supplying the energy to the streetlights. They will request the wattage of your attachment, amongst other information, so that they can calculate the amount of energy your attachment will be consuming over the network for the duration of its installation. In Southampton you need to contact SSE Power Distribution via unmetered.distribution@sse.com
You can download the form for an Unmetered Supply Agreement with SSE PD here.
8. Confirmation that the contractor installing your proposed attachment is HERS certified.
HERS is the Highways Electrical Registration Scheme that ensures engineers working on street lights have the correct qualifications and safety training. All SSE Operatives require this level of training and therefore this standard is also required for all other third parties working on street lighting infrastructure. Please supply your contractors name and business address as well as a copy of their HERS certificate along with each of the working operatives’ current HERS cards, which should be in date.
Please submit the information detailed above to TPA@sse.com the team can then begin processing of your application.
Stage 2
Our Third Party Attachments team will evaluate the information you have sent us in stage one and two. We may then require that structural tests are carried out on the street lights in your application. If you are advised to arrange for structural tests please read the below information carefully as not all types of structural testing conform to our requirements. We will not be able to approve your application without the correct type of structural testing.
What are suitable structural test results?
There are three main types of Structural Tests:
Type 1 Structural Tests: (Visual)
These are undertaken by SSE as part of our maintenance regime. When our Operatives
visit a street light, they will visually check for signs of external damage or rusting.
Type 2 Structural Tests: (Non Destructive)
These are undertaken by a third party contractor who will test the thickness of the column in various places to ensure it is capable to continue to take the weight of the lantern.
Type 3 Structural Test: (Calculations)
These are undertaken by qualified Structural Engineers who will use the Type 2 structural
test results (as above) and incorporate them into detailed calculations in accordance with BS EN 40. These are based on the specific decorations you wish to install and confirm the street lights suitability to take the extra load and wind effect of the decoration.
To ensure public safety we may ask you to carry out 'Type 3' structural tests and calculations for some or all of the street lights included in your application. The only street lights that do not require structural testing are called "Heavy Duty" which are specifically designed to take extra loading. When making your application our team can confirm if any of your requested streetlights fall into this category.
When organising your structural tests and calculations it is important to inform your Structural Engineer of the some of the clauses within our Third Party Attachment Agreement letter:
- A clearance of 2.1 metres must be maintained in cases where Third Party Attachments are erected over a footpath. Within Southampton this clearance is increased to 2.5m. No part of any sign may be nearer that 0.5m metres to the face of the kerb.
- It is important that when considering your structural tests, you highlight to your engineer that there is a minimum mounting height of 2.5m if the 0.5m rule has been adhered to.
- If your decorations sit less than 0.5m from the kerb you will need to consider traffic that could be compromised by lower mounting heights for instance lorries, heavy goods vehicles and buses which would need the height clearance increased to a minimum of 5.7m.
Please consider your mounting heights in relation to the above stipulations as the correct mounting heights will be required by the Structural Engineer to complete accurate structural calculations.
Close
Please submit your test results to TPA@sse.com The team will complete the processing of your application. You will be notified in writing when your application is approved.