Legal Help Please National Grid Right of Access to Land

Cknocker

At the end of the day its his garden and if he doesn't want it there thats his choice. The OP has already alluded to the fact that he his concerned it may interfere with his planned drive. Or perhaps he may have plans to build an extension and they have now put a pipe in the way which the OP would have to pay to divert.

Put it this way if someone dug up my garden, without my agreement and installed a pipe that I didn't want there, you can bet what you like that they would be coming back, digging it back up reinstating my garden and paying compensation for inconvenience caused.

lstar337

Cknocker wrote: »

At the end of the day its his garden and if he doesn't want it there thats his choice. The OP has already alluded to the fact that he his concerned it may interfere with his planned drive. Or perhaps he may have plans to build an extension and they have now put a pipe in the way which the OP would have to pay to divert.

Put it this way if someone dug up my garden, without my agreement and installed a pipe that I didn't want there, you can bet what you like that they would be coming back, digging it back up reinstating my garden and paying compensation for inconvenience caused.

Yes.

Sounds like the OP gave NG permission to fit a new pipe to his house, and NG have just decided that means they can fit one to his neighbours too.

OP, am I right in thinking that if NG had been clearer at the time and told you they were fitting a pipe to your house and also one to your neighbours, that you would have refused the neighbours on the grounds that you are planning to have work done on the area they have laid the pipe?

If that is the case, it sounds like NG have taken liberties where they should not have.

IMHO, It is one thing to be inconvenienced for your own benefit, another to be inconvenienced for your neighbour and National grid's benefit.

The_Shadow

lstar337 wrote: »

Yes.

Sounds like the OP gave NG permission to fit a new pipe to his house, and NG have just decided that means they can fit one to his neighbours too.

OP, am I right in thinking that if NG had been clearer at the time and told you they were fitting a pipe to your house and also one to your neighbours, that you would have refused the neighbours on the grounds that you are planning to have work done on the area they have laid the pipe?

If that is the case, it sounds like NG have taken liberties where they should not have.


IMHO, It is one thing to be inconvenienced for your own benefit, another to be inconvenienced for your neighbour and National grid's benefit.

Well put and thank you for your advice, i have a meeting with my Solicitor on Monday morning to check the deeds for my house. If there are no wayleaves or right of access in place i will take NG to court to get my neighbours gas supply moved from my front garden.

C_Mababejive

OP..I feel that the real issue is a failure to communicate effectively with you? You feel like they perhaps didnt treat your property with respect. On the other hand,they merely replaced an existing pipe with a new one in roughly the same position.

Individual services to properties are generally not shown on plans unless they are flats or of a substantial size. Only mains are shown.

There are all sorts of services buried in peoples property boundaries and some of them are not individual but are shared or otherwise serve other properties.

There is a world of difference between installing a new pipe in a new position and simply replacing old with new in the same position.

In the first instance, i suggest you point the matter to..

The customer support complaints team here..
http://www.nationalgrid.com/corporate/About+Us/Contact+Us/topics/Businesses/UKGas.htm

NG are the principles and the contractors work on their behalf so you need to deal with the organ grinder..

chanz4

I have a feeling that the gas pipes wont show on the deeds, also if the pipe was already there but replaced the could use the saftey card

Cknocker

Whether or not it is shown on a plan, if there is no wayleave or easement in place, it has no right to be there. Personally before getting a solicitor involved, I would be speaking to one of NG's wayleave officers - I would be amazed if you needed to go as far as getting a solicitor involved, just the threat should do it.

C_Mababejive

I disagree. It was there before and it has simply been replaced so there is no real difference save for the age and material of the asset.

I wouldnt bother getting involved with solicitors as the OP is likely to spend a lot of money and get nowhere. NGs solicitors and resources are bigger than his. Just be nice and follow the complaints lead as detailed above.

Come to think of it,what if the owner of the road disputed the right to put a gas main there? Maybe NG could come and remove it then no houses would have gas !

http://www.nationalgrid.com/NR/rdonlyres/37B4D599-AF34-4F31-AD54-9C1A651A0F93/41416/NGrid_Grantor..

This really only relates to larger pipelines and not fiddly little services to domestic properties..

Cknocker

Publically owned highways are covered by different rules to private land, on private land this is the legal situation: -

1. Service held on easement: - When the service is held on an easement, any payment due would have been paid at the time of signing of the easement. This would be a one off payment and the easement would be held inpertuity. If the owner wishes the service to be moved, he will be liable for the cost.
2. Service held on wayleave: - In this situation the service is held on an annual retainer, for which the landowner receives payment each year. The landowner can cancel the agreement at any time and the utility then has a predetermined amount of time to move the service at their cost.
3. No agreement in place: - The landowner can demand that the utility stops its trespass (Yes the service is trespassing) immediately, if they fail to do this then the landowner can seek a court order. IF the utility in question is a major main and the lack of agreement is historic, the utility may refer it to DECC (DTI in old terms), who will adjudicate on whether the service should be moved or not.

Cknocker

With regards to whether it is a replacement or not, that has not been ascertained. Yes the contractor has said it was, but that may be an attempt to prevent this becoming a major issue and keep their noses clean with NG. At the end of the day they have saved a reasonable amount of money by digging up the OPs garden as opposed to digging up the highway!

Ich_2

Even if it was a replacement, they still cannot excavate on private property without informing the owner, except perhaps in an emergency