Work in the public highway is regulated work, and it needs a qualified team on site. We hold a Street Works Supervisor qualification and a Street Works Operative qualification in house, so excavation, reinstatement and vehicle crossings are carried out and reinstated by the same firm that digs them.
Street works are excavations and works carried out in the public highway: the carriageway, the footway and the verge. They sit under a separate legal regime from anything on private land, because the highway is a public asset that has to stay safe, open and repaired to a published standard.
That regime is what shapes the job. Nothing can be broken out until the highway authority has granted the right permission, the site has to be signed, lit and guarded while it is open, and the reinstatement has to be built back to the national specification rather than simply made to look tidy.
Two very different customers end up here. Utility and principal contractors need a groundworks gang that can legally work in the highway. Homeowners and developers need a vehicle crossing, because a new driveway with no dropped kerb is not a finished driveway.
Forming the section 184 crossing between the carriageway and your property: kerb removal, the dropped and transition kerbs, the footway construction across the crossing, and the reinstatement either side. This is the piece most new driveways need and the piece most driveway firms cannot carry out.
Opening the carriageway, footway or verge for a connection, a duct, a chamber or a repair, then backfilling and reinstating in the correct layers so the surface goes back to the published specification rather than being patched.
Works carried out under a licence from the highway authority. A Section 171 licence under the Highways Act 1980 covers minor works and openings such as trial holes and domestic vehicle accesses. A Section 50 street works licence under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 covers placing and then keeping apparatus in the street.
Working as the groundworks gang on somebody else's programme, to your drawings, your permit conditions and your site rules, with our own machines, dumpers and operators.
Setting the site out safely for the road and footway users going past it, and keeping pedestrian and property access running while the excavation is open.
The point where the highway stops and your surface begins: levels, edge detail, kerb line and the drainage that stops highway water running onto your property or your water running onto the road.
Highway work usually arrives attached to something else: a new driveway that needs a crossing, a connection that has to cross a footway, a yard entrance that has to meet the road properly. Every photograph on this site is our own work, and we bring more of it to the site visit along with material samples.
The commercial clients this page speaks to check credentials first and reviews second; both are public, and both stand up.
Based on 4 Google reviews
Commenting as the owner of this property I can honestly say that Aaron was a pleasure to work with. Efficient, reliable, extremely hardworking, on schedule, amazing quality and just an all round lovely guy! Thank you Aaron! You can see the almost (steps leading up to the tub yet to be added as a finishing touch) finished project on the Boutique Retreats website: Kilter House, Coverack
Read more on GoogleWould definitely recommend. Our driveway was a mismatch of 3 different sections of gravel, some old concrete and a step. In two days he has completely overhauled it and it looks amazing. Very fast worker, polite and professional and reasonably priced as well. You won’t be disappointed by Michael’s team at all!
Read more on FacebookAaron laid us a wonderful patio for our back garden. From the start he was highly professional and courteous. He sat with us to discuss the best, most cost efficient options to get us exactly what we imagined. Aaron was very reliable and his after care has been exceptional ensuring he delivers the highest quality for his clients. Highly recommended!
Read more on GoogleMike and his son did a fantastic job on our sandstone patio. They provided a competitive quote and had expert knowledge. The job itself was completed to a very high standard. We are very happy with it. I highly recommend. Thank you again for the fantastic work.
Read more on FacebookReally happy with the work from Aaron Hunt Groundworks. Aaron and his team were super easy to deal with—friendly, reliable, and clearly know what they’re doing. They turned up on time, got stuck in, and made sure everything was done properly with a great finish. They kept the place tidy and checked in with us throughout the job to make sure we were happy. No fuss, no stress—just solid, professional work. Would definitely recommend them to anyone needing groundwork done. Top team!
Read more on GoogleWe had been waiting for along time for this small bit of garden to be finished…the original person we had booked just didn’t work out in the end. We booked Sunset Surfacing We are so pleased with the work and can’t wait for the summer to arrive. They were clean, tidy and professional…thank you
Read more on FacebookExtremely happy with my new patio. It wasn’t the most straight forward to lay but Aaron managed to get the finish I wanted and was completely flexible and accommodating to make it happen for our time lines. Would highly recommend.
Read more on GoogleThe work is legal from the first spadeHighway excavation carried out without the right permission or the right qualifications is an enforcement problem for whoever commissioned it, not just for the gang on site.
The reinstatement passesBackfill, layer thicknesses and the surface course are built to the national specification, so the opening does not come back as a defect months later.
Your driveway is actually finishedA new drive with no approved crossing leaves you driving over a footway you are not entitled to cross. The crossing is designed into the job from the start instead of being discovered at the end.
One firm either side of the kerb lineWe carry out the highway element and the private work behind it, so the levels, the falls and the surface meet properly at the boundary rather than being handed over between two contractors.
A supervisor and an operative in the same businessThe qualification requirement is met by our own people, which is one less thing for a principal contractor to chase before we come on site.
Call or send the form with the address, what is being opened or crossed, and any drawings, permit conditions or utility requirements you already hold.
Aaron or Mike looks at the road, the footway, the kerb line, the traffic and pedestrian movements, and what is likely to be under the surface.
Which permission the job needs depends on the work, so we identify it, prepare what the highway authority asks for, and go through the process with you rather than leaving you to it.
Once the authority has approved the works, the dates are agreed, and the site is signed, lit and guarded before anything is broken out.
The opening is backfilled and reinstated in the correct layers, the surface is made good and the highway is handed back clean.
The qualification requirement here is set in law, not by preference. Under section 67 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, street works must be supervised by a person holding the prescribed qualification, and a person holding the prescribed operative qualification must be on site whenever the works are being carried out. Reinstatement is then judged against the Specification for the Reinstatement of Openings in Highways, the national code of practice that sets out how an opening must be backfilled, compacted and surfaced. That is the standard the authority inspects against, and it is the reason a highway opening is not a job for a general gang.
Both halves of the requirement, in house. Mike Wherry holds the Street Works Supervisor qualification and Aaron Hunt holds the Street Works Operative qualification. Between them that is a complete street works team inside one small business.
Our own plant and operators. CPCS 360 excavator tickets above and below 10 tonnes, dumper tickets, and our own machines and truck.
HW Contractors is run by two owner-directors who are both on the tools. Aaron Hunt has 10 years in the trade and holds CPCS 360 Excavator Above 10 Tonnes, a CSCS card, the Street Works Operative qualification and a dumper ticket. Mike Wherry has 30 years and holds CPCS 360 Excavator Below 10 Tonnes, a CSCS card, the Street Works Supervisor qualification and a dumper ticket. That is 40 years of combined experience, and a team of three.
Highway work is the part of groundworks where you cannot improvise. There is a permission, there is a specification, and there is somebody coming to inspect what you put back. We would rather spend an hour on the application than a week putting an opening in twice.Aaron Hunt, co-owner of HW Contractors
We work from Porthleven and our patch runs from the Lizard up to Newquay. Highway and crossing work takes us into Helston, Camborne, Falmouth and Truro most often, because that is where the commercial and higher-density streetwork sits, and we also cover Porthleven, Mullion, Penzance, Redruth, St Ives and Newquay.
If you are a contractor with work across more than one of those towns, it is worth one conversation rather than several.
We do not publish rates, because a highway job is priced on the road it is in, the traffic around it and what has to go back. What you get is a free site visit with no obligation, and a written quote setting out:
The highway authority charges its own fees for permissions and inspections. Those are set by the council, are separate from our quote, and we tell you which ones apply before you commit.
Site preparation, digs, drainage and sequencing across domestic and commercial jobs, by one firm.
Groundworks
Surfacing and reinstatement in tarmac, from driveway entrances to yards, tracks and parking areas.
Tarmac driveways
The drive behind the crossing: choosing the surface, building the base and getting the levels right at the boundary.
DrivewaysWhether it is a vehicle crossing for one property or a groundworks gang for a programme of highway openings, send us the address and what the job involves and one of us will come out and look at it. The visit is free and there is no obligation.
Call us on 07886 070245·Get a free quote online
Porthleven, Cornwall
Phone: 07886 070245
Email: info@hwcontractors.co.uk
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Last updated: 22 September 2026