Electricity Substation on land

mustoep

Hi, we have a substation on our land for which we've been receiving £5 a year for.  Who can we approach to have this rent reassessed so it's a more fair rental?  I've no idea which electricity company the cheque comes from (although I could wait until next year's payment arrives).  We're in the Greater Manchester/Lancashire area.  Does anyone have any experience of renegotiating or does anyone know if the £5 is fixed for life from whenever/whoever agreed the original lease.

Basically, any advice would be appreciated.

Jude57

mustoep said:

Hi, we have a substation on our land for which we've been receiving £5 a year for.  Who can we approach to have this rent reassessed so it's a more fair rental?  I've no idea which electricity company the cheque comes from (although I could wait until next year's payment arrives).  We're in the Greater Manchester/Lancashire area.  Does anyone have any experience of renegotiating or does anyone know if the £5 is fixed for life from whenever/whoever agreed the original lease.

Basically, any advice would be appreciated.

I'd guess that, if you want to renegotiate the Lease, you'll first have to informally approach the Lessee (if you're sure it's an actual Lease, rather than an Easement or other legal agreement) to see if they are willing to renegotiate. You'll also need to have some idea of what figure you are seeking. Your deeds should have the information about the agreement, so download them from the Land Registry. There's a possibility that the original Lessee has been taken over by another company, so you might have to do some research.

Be aware, though, that utility companies are very unlikely to agree any variations of an existing agreement without a formal process being followed and that will involve legal costs for both sides. This ensures protection of both sides' interests. It's not unusual for the side seeking the variation (you) to be expected to pay the costs for both sides and your local conveyancing solicitor probably won't have the experience of this type of agreement for it to be a cheap process. The utility companies may have in-house legal departments but they still incur costs which you'll probably be asked to cover and, again, that will be at commercial rates. 

I used to draft these agreements for a large national landowner and the annual fees required ranged from peppercorn to around the £100 per annum mark, although that was some years ago. I'd think that, unless the substation on your land is unique, the utility company are unlikely to agree a large fee. In my experience, they are more likely to simply decommission it and move it elsewhere.

Section62

mustoep said:

Hi, we have a substation on our land for which we've been receiving £5 a year for.  Who can we approach to have this rent reassessed so it's a more fair rental?  I've no idea which electricity company the cheque comes from (although I could wait until next year's payment arrives).  We're in the Greater Manchester/Lancashire area.  Does anyone have any experience of renegotiating or does anyone know if the £5 is fixed for life from whenever/whoever agreed the original lease.

Are you sure the £5/annum is rental for the land the substation is on, rather than a wayleave payment for access to the substation? In all cases I've come across the substation land itself is owned by the electricity company (with the exception of factory/office buildings where the substation is 'internal').

£5/annum is more like the amount they would pay for a wayleave.

user1977

mustoep said:

does anyone know if the £5 is fixed for life from whenever/whoever agreed the original lease.

Nobody will know without reading the Lease. Do you have a copy?

Robin9

There will be a contacmustoep said:

mustoep said:......................   Who can we approach to have this rent reassessed so it's a more fair rental?  I've no idea which electricity company the cheque comes from (although I could wait until next year's payment arrives).  We're in the Greater Manchester/Lancashire area.  .......................

There will be a contact number on a plate on the door/fence


I presume by substation you mean plot of land with a wooden, chain link, or brick enclosure

mustoep

Thanks both.  I'll see if I can dig out the lease.  It's a substation around five metres inside the border of farmland behind our house.  As far as I know, we own all the land, ie including the substation area.  They have access to our land via a locked gate, then there's a separate gate into the fenced off substation area that only they have the key for.  It would actually do us a massive favour if they do decide to move it as the whole area is full of weeds and brambles, but we can't get to them because of the fencing surrounding the area.

Section62

mustoep said:

Thanks both.  I'll see if I can dig out the lease.  It's a substation around five metres inside the border of farmland behind our house.  As far as I know, we own all the land, ie including the substation area.

Do you own the farmland as well then?  The way you describe it, to me it sounds more like a wayleave case.

mustoep said:

  They have access to our land via a locked gate, then there's a separate gate into the fenced off substation area that only they have the key for.  It would actually do us a massive favour if they do decide to move it as the whole area is full of weeds and brambles, but we can't get to them because of the fencing surrounding the area.

Are the weeds and brambles inside the substation compound then?  If so, that would be unusual, substations typically have weed supressing surfaces specifically to keep plant growth in check to prevent a safety risk.  Can you post a photo of this area?

MeteredOut

If it's a wayleave, it will likely be written into the land deeds. Check these. If so, it will contain the details of the wayleave and whether you can make any requests for alterations.

35har1old

Section62 said:

mustoep said:

Thanks both.  I'll see if I can dig out the lease.  It's a substation around five metres inside the border of farmland behind our house.  As far as I know, we own all the land, ie including the substation area.

Do you own the farmland as well then?  The way you describe it, to me it sounds more like a wayleave case.

mustoep said:

  They have access to our land via a locked gate, then there's a separate gate into the fenced off substation area that only they have the key for.  It would actually do us a massive favour if they do decide to move it as the whole area is full of weeds and brambles, but we can't get to them because of the fencing surrounding the area.

Are the weeds and brambles inside the substation compound then?  If so, that would be unusual, substations typically have weed supressing surfaces specifically to keep plant growth in check to prevent a safety risk.  Can you post a photo of this area?

Maintenance is now a low priority so it's not unusual for nature to take over when the surface is stone based

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

A neighbour of ours had one of their (non-residential) land, said they were getting £15 a year for it being there.