Surprise pole

[kmo]

Came home for tea to find BT Openreach have erected a new pole outside my house. (Existing supply is undeground) New pole's in the middle of my hedge which borders a public road, so they didn't need to access any private property to erect it.
The existing phone cabling crossing the farm (supplying others) is underground with a wayleave (i think?) But it looks like, with it being updated to fibre optic they're going to replace this with overground wires ,on poles in the roadside hedges. So I may be gaining 600 metres plus of extra roadside cabling and poles. The route is the same, just the existing cabling is buried in the field side of the hedgerow.

So the questions.
Did they need to tell/ ask me first?
Should there have been a wayleave agreement first?
Or does the existing one cover them?
Or can they do whatever they like?

 

[Courier]

Makes you wonder how overhead is going to perform where a decision to underground the cable was taken many moons ago - Often done in rural areas to prevent reccurring damage from spent shot .

Maybe fibre optic will not suffer from the odd nick which used to let water in to corrode the old overhead cables?

 

[Lazy Sod]

How far is the pole from the edge of the tarmac?

 

[Exfarmer]

In England and Wales it is virtually certain you own the subsoil, so any placement in the verge requires your per mission.
Speak to a land agent. Thr utility will have to cover your costs

 

[Barleycorn]

They did this in front of my sisters house and you have every right to tell them to move it.

 

[Lazy Sod]

I have the feeling that the highway authority has jurisdiction over a metre of verge from the tarmac, hence my asking the OP where it was placed.

 

[Exfarmer]

I have the feeling that the highway authority has jurisdiction over a metre of verge from the tarmac, hence my asking the OP where it was placed.

The highways have jurisdiction over the surface only , of the defined width of the highway.
This will have been defined by the enclosure award and is usually in multiples of 8 feet
This does not apply to roads that have been built since WW2. Not where roads have been widened and landowners alongside compensated. The boundary of the highway is normally half the width of the award from the centre
The legal right of the utilities is debatable where they are placed in the highway limits and has not been tested. Outside the limits theyhave no right without a wayleave

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Around here, when they put a new pole up It has a legal notice on it seething out their powers to erect it. I've never bothered to sell legal advice as they have only replaced old ones.

 

[Surgery]

Came home for tea to find BT Openreach have erected a new pole outside my house. (Existing supply is undeground) New pole's in the middle of my hedge which borders a public road, so they didn't need to access any private property to erect it.
The existing phone cabling crossing the farm (supplying others) is underground with a wayleave (i think?) But it looks like, with it being updated to fibre optic they're going to replace this with overground wires ,on poles in the roadside hedges. So I may be gaining 600 metres plus of extra roadside cabling and poles. The route is the same, just the existing cabling is buried in the field side of the hedgerow.

So the questions.
Did they need to tell/ ask me first?
Should there have been a wayleave agreement first?
Or does the existing one cover them?
Or can they do whatever they like?

Well we have had rumblings with openreach lately and I might tell you they must be the worst of all wayleave pole cable merchants.

Bare with me , we had a new bt cble put in 10 years ago down a private drive due to a nieghbour refusing to come off his connection. 5 years later said nieghbour asked to have a connection off our supply as it was within 2m of his property so we told him go fek off. Said neighbour then sold to another bloke from an asain country who asked for a connection and via openreach was told of our dt box , said asain then when asked by openreach told them he owned our yard so connection was made temporey with cable spanning our shed.

We thought he had done this illegally so had police out at the same time openreach were there so we know the lies being told to gain a connection so we thought are well take out that wire , get in contact with our manager Who said get in contact with our manger and basically he told us that we take people's word on property ownership !!

On arguing this he produced 2 wayleaves then telling us they can gain entry which they never did , we made sure no wayleave on the buildings the box is in but never got anywhere.


It took 2-3 months threatening openreach via bt leagal department to get hold of the right bloke who came down and told me it should not have been done and 'I did not tell you but cut the wire'.

To answer your questions they would need a wayleave , they need to ask you before to gin entry as if no pole was situated before then it's a new wayleave.

Long and tall of it go straight to bt leagal department as openreach are a bunch of twunts. It has also made us aware of 6 strainers in our roadside hedge at another site which we will be asking for payment for or removal as it services a lot more houses down the road as there is no wayleave on them.

This is something you can do yourself but an agent will have much faster results.

 

[kmo]

To answer your questions they would need a wayleave , they need to ask you before to gin entry as if no pole was situated before then it's a new wayleave.

In this case they didn't need to get entry, they did the work off the public road.
A notice has now appeared on the pole.

 

[kmo]

How far is the pole from the edge of the tarmac?

 

[gone up the hill]

I would do some serious googling of the act they quote!

 

[Surgery]

Strikes me they needed it up sharpish and will go through the hole who's land wayleave etc at a later date , if it's on your land and people have internet connection off it your well within your right to ask for it to be removed , then wait for an offer ££

 

[Sonoftheheir]

We had a Bt line running underground pararell with the B road for about 1/4 mile. One day they turned up and erected poles and put the cable up there. Damned annoying having to cut around them now. Also worse for wide machines.