BT pole on my property

Ninnut85

Hello all, just after some help.
On my property is a BT telegraph pole. Normally I wouldn't
be bothered by the fact but annoyingly BT, for some reason, installed it on my driveway, at one side of the drive but it makes is a pain when getting the car on and off the driveway.
I'm not sure how long the pole has been there but it seems pretty old, 20+ years at a guess.
I contacted BT via their website to ask for them to provide me with proof of wayleave access for the pole. I received a reply stating they had no wayleave for the pole.
I then went on to contact Openreach via their website to ask them if they cannot provide proof of wayleave then for the pole to be removed from my property.
All I received back was a letter asking for £200 for them to send out some to "survey" the pole and look into how to move it. They then want a further £2000 to move the pole.
As they have no wayleave for the pole to even be there in the first place this seems like they are just trying it on.
Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing before and any ideas on the best way to move this forward?
It's the only pole in my area that is on private property. All the others are on the pavement, i'm not sure why this one in particular was placed onto private property.

Thanks

Ivana_Tinkle

Sorry if this is stating the bleedin' obvious, but they don't need a wayleave agreement if the pole only serves your property - is that the case here?

Ninnut85

Ivana_Tinkle wrote: »

Sorry if this is stating the bleedin' obvious, but they don't need a wayleave agreement if the pole only serves your property - is that the case here?

No, it's actually the only pole in the street and serves 15 homes.
It is connected to my home but I don't use BT as my phone provider so the pole serves no purpose to me.

G_M

Just to be clear, even if BT is notyour phoneprovider, does your phone provider use the BT wire/pole ?

Or do you use cable? Satellite? Or no landline?

There should be a Wayleave agreement, and you should have been receiving annual payments (a token £30 or so!).

If you are sure there is no Wayleaves agreement and you do not like this pole, cut it down.

More seriously, write to BT and say that is what you will do in (6 weeks?) if they do not apply for Wayleaves and re-position it at their own cost to somewhere you prefer..

edit: added significant word...

C_Mababejive

How old is your home? Sometimes poles and other things are there and builders just build round or over them.

Ninnut85

G_M wrote: »

Just to be clear, even if BT is notyour phoneprovider, does your phone provider use the BT wire/pole ?

Or do you use cable? Satellite? Or no landline?

There should be a Wayleave agreement, and you should have been receiving annual payments (a token £30 or so!).

If you are sure there is no Wayleaves agreement and you do not like this pole, cut it down.

More seriously, write to BT and say that is what you will do in (6 weeks?) if they do apply for Wayleaves and re-position it at their own cost to somewhere you prefer..

No, my provider is Virgin so my phone/internet uses their cables.

Ninnut85

C_Mababejive wrote: »

How old is your home? Sometimes poles and other things are there and builders just build round or over them.

Built in 1963

Davesnave

Ninnut85 wrote: »

No, it's actually the only pole in the street and serves 15 homes.
It is connected to my home but I don't use BT as my phone provider so the pole serves no purpose to me.

If your pole serves others you are entitled to a one-off wayleave payment of £150, or if you refuse to sign a wayleave agreement, then you can ask Openreach to move their pole.

From Openreach's web site:

In cases where BT apparatus was installed in private land and no challenge was made by the landowner, at that time, as to the tenure of that apparatus and no subsequent challenge has been made up to the point of the current enquiry, the BT apparatus is deemed to be legally installed up to the point where we are advised that the land in which it is placed is private property. When we are subsequently advised of the status of the land then BT will seek to remedy the situation to ensure we comply with The Telecommunications Code, Schedule 2, Paragraph 2 of the Telecommunications Act 1984, as amended by the Communications Act 2003 (The Code) by way of applying to enter into a Wayleave agreement with the landowner. If the landowner does not wish to enter into a Wayleave agreement with BT to retain the apparatus in situ then it will be necessary to formally notice BT under Paragraph 21 of the above mentioned Code.

In my own case, it took 6 months to get any acknowledgement of my many attempted communications with them, so you have done well so far!

I eventually sent them a notice, as above, giving 28 days for the removal of their equipment and sent it recorded delivery, which brought a surveyor here within the week. We agreed a place for the pole to go, but that was in May, and so far there is still nothing in writing. :mad:

I would not be surprised if, in the end, I'm forced to move the pole myself, with the aid of a digger, of course!

tukka123

send them back dated rent of £200 per month unless they remove the pole.
Or you could say as it's on your land you will be cutting it down on a set date... Sure it will cause some worries.

Ninnut85

Davesnave wrote: »

If your pole serves others you are entitled to a one-off wayleave payment of £150, or if you refuse to sign a wayleave agreement, then you can ask Openreach to move their pole.

From Openreach's web site:

In cases where BT apparatus was installed in private land and no challenge was made by the landowner, at that time, as to the tenure of that apparatus and no subsequent challenge has been made up to the point of the current enquiry, the BT apparatus is deemed to be legally installed up to the point where we are advised that the land in which it is placed is private property. When we are subsequently advised of the status of the land then BT will seek to remedy the situation to ensure we comply with The Telecommunications Code, Schedule 2, Paragraph 2 of the Telecommunications Act 1984, as amended by the Communications Act 2003 (The Code) by way of applying to enter into a Wayleave agreement with the landowner. If the landowner does not wish to enter into a Wayleave agreement with BT to retain the apparatus in situ then it will be necessary to formally notice BT under Paragraph 21 of the above mentioned Code.

In my own case, it took 6 months to get any acknowledgement of my many attempted communications with them, so you have done well so far!

I eventually sent them a notice, as above, giving 28 days for the removal of their equipment and sent it recorded delivery, which brought a surveyor here within the week. We agreed a place for the pole to go, but that was in May, and so far there is still nothing in writing. :mad:

I would not be surprised if, in the end, I'm forced to move the pole myself, with the aid of a digger, of course!

Thanks for the info.
I'll try issuing them a notice as stated and see what happens.

mrschaucer

Davesnave - could you post a link to this info on the Openreach site? I've had a quick look and didn't get anywhere! Many thanks.