Suppose you own a half-acre plot that slopes away from the road.
There is an old house near the entrance, a masonry wall on two sides, several trees, a shallow drain and a well near the lower corner. You want an architect to design a new home and two rental units.
The title and parcel map identify the land, but they do not show the shape of the ground or the position of everything already on the site.
Your architect asks for a topographical survey before preparing the design.
You want to understand what the survey team will measure, what the resulting plan will show and how it helps the project.
A topographical survey records the position and level of the ground and the physical features relevant to the proposed work. The resulting plan gives the design team a measured picture of the site rather than requiring them to work from estimates or a hand-drawn sketch.
What question is the survey answering?
For our half-acre plot, the survey needs to answer three connected questions.
First, where is the site in relation to the registered parcel and the adjoining land?
Second, what is already on the property?
Third, how does the ground rise and fall across the area where development is proposed?
The answers allow the architect and other designers to place the proposed buildings, access, drainage and external works in relation to the measured site.
The exact scope depends on the project. A survey for one house may not require the same extent of detail as a survey for apartments, a hotel, a road or a large subdivision. The owner and design team should therefore explain what is being planned before the fieldwork begins.
What does the survey team check before visiting?
The starting information is the parcel number, location and title document.
The surveyor then obtains the available information from earlier surveys of the plot and adjoining land. This may include a cadastral map, deed plan, survey plan, coordinates and information about existing roads or other surveyed boundaries.
A cadastral map shows the arrangement of registered land parcels. A survey plan contains measured information used to describe land, such as boundary points, coordinates, lengths and bearings.
Coordinates are numerical values that describe the position of a survey point within a particular reference system. A bearing describes the direction of a line.
The Survey Regulations require the available information from previous surveys of the property and adjoining plots to be obtained before a survey is carried out. This records work helps the team connect the measurements taken on site to the correct parcel.
The design brief is also important. It should identify the area to be surveyed and the features the architect or engineer needs to see. For our example, the brief may ask for the full plot, the road entrance, existing buildings, walls, drainage features, the well and the levels across the proposed building area.
Does the parcel map provide the site boundary?
The parcel map helps identify the property, but the team still needs to establish what boundary information can be relied on for the assignment.
Under the Land Registration Act, the cadastral map and any filed plan are treated as showing the approximate boundary and approximate position of a parcel unless the register notes that the boundaries have been fixed.
A fixed boundary has its precise position defined through the relevant survey and registration process. The approved plan and the note in the register record that status.
The surveyor therefore checks the parcel records, existing survey marks and measurements on the ground. A fence or wall may be useful site evidence, but it should not automatically be treated as the registered boundary.
This distinction should be clear in the scope. A topographical survey can place visible fences, walls and other features on the plan. If the owner also needs missing beacons restored, a disputed boundary determined or a formal boundary survey completed, that work should be identified separately.
For our design project, the architect needs the proposed buildings related to the correct land. The team must therefore explain which boundary information was used and whether any boundary question remains unresolved.
What happens during the fieldwork?
At the site, the team establishes the survey points from which the measurements will be taken. These points provide a consistent reference for locating the ground and the features on it.
The team measures both position and height.
The position measurements show where a feature lies across the plot. The height measurements show how one point sits above or below another. Together, they allow the plan to represent the horizontal arrangement of the site and its change in level.
For the half-acre plot, the field team may measure:
- the relevant parcel boundary points and visible survey marks;
- the existing house, outbuildings and building corners;
- walls, fences, gates and the road entrance;
- roads, paths, drains and channels;
- the well, any borehole and visible water or sewer features;
- visible pipelines, utility installations or wayleave features relevant to the design;
- significant trees or other physical features requested in the brief; and
- sufficient ground points to describe the slope and changes in the land surface.
The Survey Regulations specifically require topographical features to be recorded where possible. They also require buildings, wells, boreholes, pipelines and other developments that may involve an easement, right of way or similar question to be surveyed.
The observations and measurements are recorded in the field notes. Field notes are the survey record of what was observed, measured and used during the work. The Regulations require them to be clear, indexed and referenced so that a competent person can prepare a true plan from them.
How does the plan show the slope?
The ground can be represented using measured levels, spot levels and contour or form lines.
A spot level is the measured height of a particular point relative to the level reference used for the survey.
A contour line joins points at the same stated level. Where detailed contours are not appropriate, form lines may be used to indicate the general shape of the ground.
On our plot, the levels may show that the entrance is higher than the proposed building area and that the land continues to fall towards the well. Closely spaced contours indicate a steeper part of the site. More widely spaced contours indicate a gentler change.
The plan should state the level reference used. This allows later setting-out work to return to the same height system instead of beginning from a new assumed level.
The density of measured ground points and the contour interval should suit the project and the character of the land. A mostly level site and a steep site do not need the same field pattern to describe them properly. The required detail should be agreed before the survey.
What else appears on the topographical plan?
The topographical plan turns the field measurements into a drawing that the owner and design team can read.
The Survey Regulations require distances on plans to be shown in metres. Survey plans are plotted from coordinates, include a north point and use an appropriate scale. Relevant boundaries, numerical information and accurately fixed topographical features are shown in their plotted positions.
Depending on the agreed scope, the plan for our property may include:
- the parcel identification and survey extent;
- the boundary information used for the work;
- a north point, scale and coordinate grid;
- buildings, walls, fences, gates and access points;
- roads, paths and drainage features;
- wells, boreholes and visible utility features;
- spot levels and contours or form lines;
- labels explaining the features shown; and
- notes identifying information that is approximate or taken from another stated source.
The Regulations provide that topographical features accurately fixed by survey or sketched with reasonable precision should be shown in their correct plotted positions. If roads have not been surveyed to the same accuracy as the other features, they are marked as approximate.
Where topographical information comes from an official map, aerial photographs or other remotely sensed data, the source should be stated on the plan. This helps the reader distinguish field measurements from information obtained elsewhere.
How is the plan used for design?
The architect can place the proposed development on a measured base plan.
For our project, the plan helps the design team see the space available around the existing house, the relationship between the proposed buildings and the plot edges, the position of the entrance and the direction in which the land falls.
The levels provide information for considering building platforms, external steps, ramps, retaining works and the movement of surface water. Existing drains, wells, buildings and visible utilities can be considered before the proposed layout is developed.
The Physical and Land Use Planning Act identifies matters that a county government may consider when reviewing a building proposal. These include the position of the building within the plot, the building line, access, parking, plot coverage, landscaping, infrastructure and environmental considerations.
The topographical survey does not decide those planning questions. It gives the design team measured site information with which to prepare the proposal.
Is a location plan the same document?
A location plan places the property within its wider surroundings so that the land referred to in a development application can be identified. The Physical and Land Use Planning Regulations describe it as a plan at a standard metric scale, with north indicated, showing the proposed development in its surrounding context.
A topographical plan deals with the measured detail of the site itself.
The two can support the same project, but they answer different questions. The location plan helps identify where the land is. The topographical plan helps the design team understand what is on the land and how the ground is arranged.
The development-permission rules require an application to be accompanied by the ownership document, a location plan showing the subject area in relation to major landmarks, roads and features, and the relevant scheme or building plans.
The survey team should therefore understand which drawings are required from it and which will be prepared by the architect, physical planner or engineer.
Does the topographical survey approve the development?
No. The survey and the development approval perform different parts of the project.
The survey records the site. The design team uses that information to prepare the proposed layout and building documents. The relevant county authority then considers the development application under the planning process.
The Physical and Land Use Planning Act requires development permission before development is carried out within a county. The application includes the documents, plans and particulars needed to explain the proposed development, prepared by the relevant qualified professionals.
The application may be referred to authorities responsible for matters such as land survey, roads and transport, public works, utilities, the environment and natural resources.
An accurate topographical plan can support those later stages, but it is not itself permission to build.
What checks are made before the plan is issued?
The field observations are converted into calculations and plotted information.
The Survey Regulations place responsibility on the licensed surveyor for the accuracy, completeness and fidelity of a survey presented for approval. They also require sufficient work to allow each part of the survey to be checked.
Before computations are forwarded to the Director of Surveys for authentication, an independent and complete check is required. The formal requirements applying to a particular survey submission depend on the nature of the assignment.
For the owner and design team, the issued topographical plan should be internally consistent. The coordinates, levels, plotted features, labels and stated scale should describe the same measured site.
If something could not be accessed or measured, the plan or accompanying report should identify that limitation rather than leaving the design team to assume the information is complete.
What should you receive after the survey?
The deliverables should be agreed before the fieldwork begins.
For our example, the owner should receive a topographical plan showing the surveyed extent, relevant boundaries, existing features and ground levels. A short report can explain the records used, the level reference, the site work completed and any issue that may affect the design.
The quotation should state whether the deliverables include a printed plan, a digital plan, an editable design file, a schedule of coordinates or levels, and later setting-out work. These items should not be assumed merely because a site visit has taken place.
The design team should also know the survey date. A plan records the site as surveyed. If buildings, roads, drainage or ground levels are changed later, the older plan may no longer describe the current conditions.
For the half-acre project, the useful result is a plan on which the architect can identify the parcel, read the slope, locate the existing development and prepare a proposal that responds to the measured site.
What should you send to Walterland?
Send the parcel number, location and a copy of the title or certificate of lease. Include any cadastral map, deed plan, survey plan, mutation form or earlier site plan you already have.
Explain what you intend to build and which part of the property will be affected. If an architect or engineer has provided a survey brief, send it before the quotation is prepared.
Mention existing buildings, walls, wells, boreholes, drains, pipelines, access roads and any known wayleave or easement. Photographs and an existing sketch can help identify the features to be measured, although they do not replace the field survey.
Also state whether you need the topographical work only or whether the assignment should include boundary investigation, setting out or support for a development application. This allows the scope and deliverables to be defined around the actual project.
What should you send to Walterland?
Send the parcel number, location and a copy of the title or certificate of lease. Include any cadastral map, deed plan, survey plan, mutation form or earlier site plan you already have.
Explain what you intend to build and which part of the property will be affected. Engineering surveys →
Legal references
Legal references
- Survey Regulations, L.N. 168 of 1994: regulations 23, 24, 26 to 29, 72, 73, 82, 89 to 92 and 95. These cover measurement units, coordinate systems, survey accuracy and checking, previous survey information, field records, plan plotting and the treatment of topographical features.
- Land Registration Act, Cap. 300: sections 15, 18 and 19. These cover cadastral maps and approximate and fixed boundaries.
- Physical and Land Use Planning Act, Cap. 303: sections 57 to 60; Third Schedule, paragraph 8. These cover development permission, application documents, professional preparation, consultation with relevant authorities and the matters considered for building proposals.
- Physical and Land Use Planning (General Development Permission and Control) Regulations, L.N. 253 of 2021: regulations 2 and 15. These define a location plan and prescribe the supporting documents used for development-permission applications.