OK, situation, our Victorian detached house, fronts directly onto the
pavement in our village.

There is a soil pipe at the front of the house, put in AFAIK in the
70's, maybe early '80s when a bedroom was converted to a bathroom,
draining into the public sewer in the road. It sees to be just our
drain, so AIUI that makes it our responsibility

There is manhole cover over the drain in the pavement - this is just a
pressed steel jobbie, not a cast one as would be used by a utility, it
has rusted through in one of the dips in one of the handle areas so I
figure that I need to replace it before someone puts a foot through it
one day.

Now, with a bit of luck I might be able to just put a new lid on, but I
know that often it ends up easier to replace the frame as well.

But being in the pavement, what implications does this have? Presumably
the local authority might have something to say about this, seeing as
they have responsibility for the pavements? Will the lid need to be to a
certain standard? If I have to replace the frame would I need to use
certain contractors? etc.

I know I could just contact them, but I like to go into these things
with a bit of awareness of the what the requirements are
--
Chris French