BREACH OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANT

35har1old

Tulips2lips said:

They've been laid under the access road in breach of covenant to old electricity cables when they should have been laid under adjoining field with easement to new substation

If a fault occurred it likely would be where they made the connection to the old cable .I assume they did lay new cable to the meter position.It is unlikely that the connection would fail.The old cable is likely be a cable covered in hessian with tape armour over lead sheath then the cores are separated with wax paper. Today's split concentric cable pvc covering over bare copper strands which is your earth and covered copper which is your neutral then your covered live aluminium  core beneath. 

eddddy

As others say, these wouldn't be issues for buildings insurance.  But depending on the back-story they might cause other issues.

For example, is it that somebody has built a new house, and connected utilities under a private road without the private road owner's consent (and in breach of a covenant)?

If so, if the private road owner finds out, they might insist that you disconnect the utilities and route them elsewhere.

(I guess this might come about if home owners in the private road complain that the water supply, electricity supply, etc has become overloaded, resulting in reduced water pressure, or power outages.)


I guess it might also be an indication that the house builder is a bit of a 'cowboy' who takes shortcuts to save money. So maybe lookout for other dodgy shortcuts.

Tulips2lips

unforeseen said:

Tulips2lips said:

They've been laid under the access road in breach of covenant to old electricity cables when they should have been laid under adjoining field with easement to new substation

who is saying they should have crossed a field and not along the road.

The title register held by HM Land Registry. 

Tulips2lips

user1977 said:

Tulips2lips said:

if there was a fire due to being connected to old equipment rather than the new substation

Who has told you that's a risk?

There was a fire at one of the cottages connected to the old cables last year and the fire brigade said the cables can't cope with all the new houses that have been built.

molerat

Tulips2lips said:

unforeseen said:

Tulips2lips said:

They've been laid under the access road in breach of covenant to old electricity cables when they should have been laid under adjoining field with easement to new substation

who is saying they should have crossed a field and not along the road.

The title register held by HM Land Registry. 

What exactly does the restrictive covenant state ?  Who was it that breached the covenant and were they actually party to the covenant ?

There was a fire at one of the cottages connected to the old cables last year and the fire brigade said the cables can't cope with all the new houses that have been built.

Was that in an official report or the random musing of one of the firefighters present ?

It is unlikely that the cable being joined into elsewhere would cause a fire at one of the premises using the old cable, more likely the actual service at the cottage was beyond its sell by date !

A random builder would not just join into a main cable, that would be the DNO and they would only do so if they considered it safe.

Tulips2lips

@molerat The Powergrid have actually said the cables can't cope with all of the houses so I don't know why they connected them all.  The cottage fire was caused by a lost neutral from the old utility pole.  Covenant states that no services shall be laid under the access road to the neighbouring development and should be laid over the adjacent field.  The farmer who sold the land allowed vehicular access from his land to a neighbour who was landlocked and gave access rights for their services over his other field to the new substation but they connected in to his development.  He doesn't know so I don't want to put an offer on a house that could have its services disconnected.