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Services / Topographical surveying

 

Topographical surveys in Newbury, Berkshire and the South of England

A topographical survey is the foundation of almost every design, planning and construction project. MatMap records the position and height of every natural and man-made feature on your site, including ground levels, buildings, boundaries, trees, kerbs, drainage covers, street furniture and overhead lines. We tie it all to Ordnance Survey grid and datum, so architects, engineers and planners can design with confidence.

We are based in Newbury and carry out topographical land surveys across Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. Our sites range from single residential plots to large development land, highways and industrial estates.

When do you need a topographical survey?

  • Before submitting a planning application or preparing a site layout
  • At concept and detailed design stage for architects and civil engineers
  • To calculate cut and fill, drainage falls and finished floor levels
  • To resolve boundary questions or record existing conditions before works start
  • As a baseline for monitoring or volumetric surveys

How we carry out your survey

Every survey starts from a robust survey control network established with GNSS and precise levelling. We then pick up detail with robotic total stations and GNSS rovers. Where a site is complex, congested or hard to access, we add 3D laser scanning to capture complete, measurable point cloud data in a single visit.

We agree the specification with you before we go to site: the level of detail, the feature coding and the deliverable format. That way the survey fits your design workflow from day one, with no rework and no surprises.

Topographical survey deliverables

  • 2D topographical survey drawings in AutoCAD (DWG/DXF) and PDF
  • Spot levels, contours and cross-sections to Ordnance Survey datum
  • Digital terrain models (DTM) and 3D surface models for civil design
  • Coordinate lists and coded survey data
  • Point cloud data (E57, RCP) where laser scanning is used
  • Drawings to your own CAD template, layers and line styles on request

Why choose MatMap?

As a local surveying practice we can be on site quickly, and you deal directly with the surveyor who measures your site. We focus on accuracy, clear communication and deliverables that drop straight into your design software. That’s why clients in construction, estates and property and infrastructure rely on us.

Frequently asked questions

Most residential plots are surveyed in a single day, with drawings issued within a few working days. Larger sites are scheduled to suit your programme. We’ll give you a clear timescale with your quotation.

Accuracy depends on the specification, but typical survey detail is captured to within a few millimetres to a couple of centimetres. It’s always tied to OS National Grid and Ordnance Datum Newlyn unless you need a local grid.

Cost depends on site size, level of detail and access. Send us a location plan and a brief description of the project and we’ll provide a fixed quotation.

A standard topographical survey records ground levels, buildings, boundaries, kerbs, walls, fences, trees with canopy spreads, drainage covers, street furniture and visible services. We agree the exact feature list and level of detail with you before we visit site.

Many local planning authorities expect an accurate site plan showing levels and existing features, and architects need one to produce a compliant design. A topographical survey gives your design team a reliable base for site layouts, sections and street scenes.

We record visible features such as manhole covers, gullies and valve boxes, and can lift covers to measure invert levels, pipe sizes and connections. If you need buried utilities traced and mapped, we can arrange a specialist utility survey alongside the topographical survey.