Where a contractor knows or ought to know that a plan showing the location of underground services is indicative only, the foreseeable risk is not limited to the cable being slightly displaced from its marked position; rather, the risk is that of excavating in an area where the actual location of the cable is unknown. Industry requirements specifying precautionary zones (such as 3-metre clearance zones) apply only where the cable has been precisely located, and do not define the limit of required precautions when the cable location remains uncertain.
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