| AdminHistory | At the time of Corporation's inception the key services required to be installed in newly developed areas were:
Foul Sewers
Surface Water Drains
Water Mains
Gas Mains
Telephone Cables
Electricity Cables
Television Cables
Much of the work in this area was usually governed by the Public Utilities Street Work Act, which governed and standardised regulations relating to services' apparatus - however, as the Corporation was not a local authority the act did not apply. As such the Corporation produced a booklet advising utility companies of its own procedures.
An additional issue with the design scheme of Livingston was that, in traditional developments, many services were located under footways. Livingston, until the 1980s, pursued a policy of segregated roads and footpaths. There were also issues with the higher density of dwellings than in previous 20th century design schemes and the increased use of space for garages. The idea of common ducts for all services was considered, but this was hampered by technical issues. Large electrical cables keep cool much more efficiently when embedded in cold earth, as opposed to the air required for common ducts.
Across its lifetime the Corporation held regular meetings with all service providers to update them as to their programme of works and to engage on discussion as to its procedures relating to the installation of services. In some cases there were complex cost sharing schemes whereby the Corporation paid some, or all of the costs of installing such services. This was particulalry relevant to those services which were usually the remit of Local Authorities, as on its designation the Corporation was bound to a no-profit- no loss scheme whereby neither the Corporation or the authority would make any money from the provision of services.
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