Pipe subways

Many of the City's narrow medieval streets are congested with cables and pipes, making installation of future infrastructure difficult. The City Corporation has explored with utilities providers ways to mitigate the impact of highway congestion such as removal of redundant cabling and use of old ducts to install utilities infrastructure, however this has done little to alleviate the growing problem of congestion under the highway.

The City currently benefits from over 6km of existing pipe subways (underground utilities tunnels), which have been invaluable in delivering infrastructure across the Square Mile. In 2010, the Partnerships and Engagement team, in partnership with the Greater London Authority (GLA) and utilities providers in the Square Mile, commissioned an update report that determined that a good case exists to extend the existing network of pipe subways (also known as service subways). A copy of this report is available below:

This would provide a sustainable, long-term solution to ensuring future delivery of services to properties, and would also facilitate the delivery of a comprehensive decentralised energy network, to provide (low carbon) district heating/cooling supplies to City office buildings and outlying areas, which is the only feasible solution to achieving the Mayor of London's carbon reduction targets, and would further enhance the City's status as the world's leading global financial centre. we continue to work alongside stakeholders and partner organisations to understand how future service subways could be funded.