Moving a power pole from my property

big_stu

I have read some good threads on this forum with regards to wayleaves etc and have already made an enquiry with the wayleave registry in scotland regarding my issue, although coming up for 3 months and no response from them so far.

I bought a house last year oct 11 (converted farm building)which has a power pole in the drive way which i assumed to provide my property only. There is no reference to this pole in any of the sale/purchase paperwork for the house. I have since learned it provides the neighbouring properties also.

Orignally it would appear the power supply would have been for the original farm house which still exists. Our property was purchased from the farmer in 1993 and converted to residential property in 1996 (I am assuming the pole was on the property at the time of this sale). So at this point the pole now changes to supplying 2 properties.

A couple years later the remaining 2 farm buildings were converted and tied into the same power pole.

I am expecting a little shade of grey with this issue and a wayleave agreement as I doubt there would have been one in place for the original farm as they were the sole consumer. It was probably missed when our property was converted but i would assume there should have been something in place to tie in the most recent properties.

I would like to move this pole and have been quoted £2250 as long as I expose all the cables, dig the new trenches, and resite it on my land then bury cables on completion. Given there are 4 routes to cater for this is a large piece of work!!

so my questions are.

1. Has anyone got a similar set up with regards to a wayleave aggreement or easement for suppling multiple properties? If so could you please share details on the financial agreements?

2. If there is or is not a wayleave in place am i responsible for carrying out the work to reroute my neighbours cables?

3. If i am NOT responsible but choose to foot the bill to move the pole.Can i legally reroute my neighbours cables for this work if i choose to do all the preparation work?

4. What is a reasonable time to wait for a wayleave response? I have read they can take a while to respond.

thanks for any input,
STU

Ich_2

It is quite possible that as the pole originally supplied property owned by one person (the farm) there will never have been a wayleave on it. Once the area was developed it would have been the resposibility of the person that took on the land it stands on to negotiate one 9this should have been advised by the solicitor dealing with the sale. Something that rarely occurs in my experience.
The other alternative could be that the wayleave still rests with the original landowner and was never transferred - this again is common.

So when the other properties were converted in 1998 it seems , someone must have given parmission for the cables to be laid as cables will not be laid without permission. it is possible that this was the owner then who was happy not to have a wayleave. Thus leaving you in the position you are in

In answer as best I can
1/ there is a fixed annual payment per pole and per cable (if I recall) generally it is not a negotiable figure

2/ You can argue it with the DNO, as the pole and cables appear to be there without your (the land owner) permission

3/ Yes, the cables belong to the DNO not your neighbours, if they agree to the route there is no issue

4/ Not sure, the DNO should be the point of contact in the first place.

DVardysShadow

Interesting points raised by Ich.

I suspect that if ever there was a wayleave, it would only be for the original connection. And if the pole was on the original property, probably no wayleave for the pole or the cables either while they were under the one ownership

Now, if the seller did not get easements for supplies to the other properties written into deeds of your property, big stu, and if there are no wayleaves theoretically you could insist that the cables are removed. But would you want the animosity?

If there is a wayleave in place from the original owner, you might have a claim against him, if the wayleave was not notified to you - this might cover rerouting the other cables but not moving the pole.

Ich_2

In the original set up of the pole just feeding the farm, there would never have been a wayleave under the principle of "If you want a supply we'll need to put a pole up there!"
This would class it as a service line and a service pole.
Once it then feeds 2 different customers it ceases to be a service pole as it becomes a main (a main feeds 2 or more customers).

Though probably a lost cause I would be asking the solicitor who dealt with the purchase why he did not throw up the lack of a wayleave covering the pole and the cables to your neighbours.

big_stu

Ich wrote: »

In the original set up of the pole just feeding the farm, there would never have been a wayleave under the principle of "If you want a supply we'll need to put a pole up there!"
This would class it as a service line and a service pole.
Once it then feeds 2 different customers it ceases to be a service pole as it becomes a main (a main feeds 2 or more customers).
.

this is what i was thinking,

thanks for the comments folks

STU

big_stu

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Now, if the seller did not get easements for supplies to the other properties written into deeds of your property, big stu, and if there are no wayleaves theoretically you could insist that the cables are removed. But would you want the animosity?

good point and this is something i have already considered.
I would not be asking them to be removed entirely but it would be nice if this is the case as I can then negotiate the placement of the pole onto ground shared by 3 of the 4 parties rather than just move it further over on my driveway.

I am doubting the previous resident (who converted the building) put anything in place for easement or wayleave as he has history of failing to follow through on bounary issues (all resolved now )

big_stu

PS commendation to admin for the "NEWBIE" alert. Whilst im an avid forum fan its not often you see such a promenant newbie alert for looking after new members.

paulbh2

If you go to this farming website you will see how they get it done farmingforum dot co dot uk/forums/showthread.php?t=56023
You will have to replace the dot with a . and remove spaces for the link to work