Transport Planner
A transport planner assesses the transport impacts of development proposals and designs access strategies. MCIHT (Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation) is the key qualification. Required on almost all planning applications for residential developments of 10+ units, commercial development and any scheme involving new or changed highway access.
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Transport Planner
Assesses transport impacts of development and designs access strategies. MCIHT. Required for most planning applications involving residential or commercial development.
HighwaysHighways Engineer
Designs road and highway layouts for new developments. MCIHT or CEng MICE. Produces highway drawings and specifications for S278 and S38 agreements.
HighwaysTraffic Engineer
Models and analyses traffic flows, junction capacity and signal timings. MCIHT. Required for planning applications where development generates significant additional traffic.
HighwaysRoad Safety Auditor
Carries out independent road safety audits on new highway schemes at design stages 1, 2 and 3. MCIHT. Required on all new public highway works as a condition of S278 and S38 agreements.
HighwaysTransport Assessment Specialist
Prepares Transport Assessments and Transport Statements for planning applications. MCIHT or TPS member. Required on larger residential and commercial applications.
HighwaysTravel Plan Coordinator
Prepares and implements Travel Plans to encourage sustainable transport modes. Required by planning condition on most commercial developments and larger residential schemes.
HighwaysS278 Agreement Manager
Manages the Section 278 agreement process - coordinating technical approval, legal agreement and construction of off-site highway works required as a planning condition.
HighwaysS38 Agreement Manager
Manages Section 38 agreements for the adoption of new roads on residential developments as public highway. Coordinates with the highway authority throughout design, construction and adoption.
HighwaysUtility Coordinator / Statutory Undertaker Liaison
Coordinates with gas, electricity, water and telecoms utility companies for new connections and diversions on development sites. Essential early in the design process.
HighwaysCivil Engineer - Infrastructure
Designs site infrastructure including roads, drainage, earthworks and utilities for development sites. CEng MICE. Leads external works design on larger residential and commercial schemes.
HighwaysDrainage Design Engineer
Designs surface water and foul drainage systems for development sites. MCIWEM or CEng MICE. Required on all new development with drainage infrastructure.
HighwaysSuDS Designer
Designs sustainable drainage systems - attenuation tanks, soakaways, swales and permeable paving. MCIWEM. Required on most new developments under current SuDS legislation.
HighwaysEarthworks Engineer
Designs cut and fill operations, retaining structures and slope stability measures on development sites. CEng MICE or CGeol. Required where significant ground modelling is needed.
HighwaysGeotechnical Engineer
Investigates ground conditions to inform foundation design, retaining wall design and earthworks. CEng MICE or CGeol. Required before any significant groundworks on a new development.
HighwaysPavement Design Engineer
Designs the structural composition of road pavements including carriageway, footway and shared surfaces. MCIHT. Required for adoption-standard roads on S38 development schemes.
HighwaysStreet Lighting Designer
Designs street lighting schemes for new roads and public realm. MCIHT or ILP (Institution of Lighting Professionals) member. Required on all adoption-standard roads and public spaces.
HighwaysTraffic Signal Designer
Designs traffic signal installations and junction signal timings. MCIHT. Required when development triggers new signal-controlled junctions or modifications to existing signals.
HighwaysBridge Engineer
Designs and assesses highway bridges, footbridges and culverts. CEng MIStructE or CEng MICE. Required when development involves new bridge structures or modification of existing bridges.
HighwaysTunnelling Engineer
Designs and manages underground tunnel construction for transport, utilities and drainage. CEng MICE. Required on major infrastructure projects involving new tunnels or significant underground works.
HighwaysTopographic Surveyor
Produces accurate topographic surveys of land and roads for design purposes. MRICS or equivalent. Required before any highway or infrastructure design can commence.
HighwaysPublic Rights of Way Consultant
Advises on the diversion, creation and management of public rights of way affected by development. Required when development proposes to divert or create footpaths, bridleways or byways.
HighwaysShared Space Designer
Designs shared surface streets and public realm schemes where pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles share the same space. MCIHT or CMLI. Required on urban regeneration and high-quality residential street design schemes.
Highways & infrastructure qualifications explained
CIHT and ICE are the primary professional bodies for highways and infrastructure specialists. Here is what the key designations mean.
The chartered qualification for transport planners and highways engineers. MCIHT demonstrates competence in access strategy, traffic modelling, road safety audits, transport assessments and S278/S38 highway agreements. Required by most local highway authorities for transport assessment work on planning applications.
Chartered Civil Engineer status via the ICE is the standard qualification for civil, infrastructure, drainage and geotechnical engineers. CEng MICE demonstrates a high level of competence in infrastructure design, earthworks, drainage and ground engineering. Internationally recognised.
MCIOB is relevant for infrastructure project managers and principal contractors managing large highway and civil engineering projects. Demonstrates competence in construction management, programme control and CDM compliance on complex infrastructure schemes.
TPS membership is an additional professional affiliation for transport planners, complementing CIHT membership. The TPS Practitioner qualification (TPP) demonstrates specialist competence in transport planning including transport modelling, travel plan preparation and sustainable transport strategy.
IHE membership is an alternative professional qualification for highways engineers and technicians. MIHEng demonstrates competence in highway design, traffic management and road safety. Widely recognised by local highway authorities and often held alongside MCIHT.
All transport planners, highways engineers and infrastructure specialists should hold current Professional Indemnity Insurance. CIHT and ICE members are required to maintain adequate PII. Ask for a current certificate before appointing. Minimum £1m per claim for highway and infrastructure instructions.