Telegraph pole removal

Cambridge32

Hello,

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this, but:

An elderly friend has a wooden telegraph pole outside their property. It has wires attached to it, and might be for telephone lines. However, there is another (angled) telegraph pole, apparently supporting the first, and attached to it a short way from the top. This second telegraph pole is rooted in my friend's front lawn.

No other properties in the road have this two-pole arrangement, and my friend wants to have it removed so that he can pave his front lawn and park his car there. He has asked me for advice but I haven't got a clue where to start.

Who should be contacted regarding removal?
Will my friend have to pay for removal?
Has anybody else had a similar experience?

Many thanks.

princeofpounds

You need to contact the wayleaves dept of BT openreach.

Read the posts in this previous thread.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/500500

*Robin*

I used to have a house with a pole in the garden. We couldn't have it removed as it was carrying electric cables - but we did receive a cheque for about 25p "rent" every year.
The letter that came with the cheque told us who was responsible for the pole, so that's the place to start. Ask your friend if he gets a similar letter, it will have contact details on it.

If he's not being paid for the inconvenience, it will be harder to find the owner, but maybe your friend is due back rent - if he's lived in his house for a long time he might get enough for.. a pint? :rotfl:

lincroft1710

Does your friend have planning permission to pave his front lawn as this is now required if the paved area is above a certain size

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/pavingfrontgarden/

Cambridge32

OK, I called Openreach Wayleaves dept. (last thing yesterday from work) and the lady there was very confused. At first she said that my friend would have to pay £200 for a surveyor to even come and have a look and that there was a 25-day waiting time (it turned out that she was referring to the primary pole on the pavment which is not on private land), but when I pointed out that the secondary pole was on private property and had no lines attached to it she became completely confused and did not know what to suggest (I argued that an inspection should surely be free as the pole is line-less and on private land). In the end she gave me another number to call (I shall try today) to enquire about specific wayleaves for the secondary (line-less, supporting) pole.

I believe that my friend intends to use a permeable surface for which planning is not required (plus there is a planted border along one side).

ken_and_dot

Your friend needs to check his deeds. We bought a property for re-development some time ago with a pole in the garden which we needed to have removed as it was in the way. We were initially asked to pay £400 but when we checked the deeds there was no wayleave for it to be there. They relocated it free.

DVardysShadow

Technical point. If the main pole has wires attached, then the pole in your friend's garden will be a stay pole, which is keeping the main pole from leaning into your friends garden [depending on the wires attached]. So removing it will not be straight forward.

System

I think it depends on whether the main pole serves the house or not.

If it does, you get no rent and you have no rights. If you want the service, you have the pole of their choosing.

If the pole does not serve the house, then there should be a wayleave agreement in place. You may or may not be able to terminate the agreement, or impose conditions, such as moving the pole. But if the pole has been there a long time I don't think they are going to move it for you without a costly fight.

BMW51K

Phone: 08009177381 - option 6

They'll raise a job number for an engineer to do a site visit and then tell you how much it will cost to have the pole moved.
The engineer will contact you "within 25 working days".