Neighbour Obstructing Openreach

iniltous

hattiejordan said:

My son and his girlfriend bought their first home together a few months ago.  They ordered ultrafast broadband from Sky which they ideally need as she works from home.  When Openreach came to install, the neighbour who parks on the road, refused to move his car and has continued to refuse to do so ever since - this also caused problems when the water company wanted a reading as the water meter was covered by the car.  The neighbour very rarely moves his car from this spot as he has a van he uses for his day to day needs.  Where do they stand here as the road is a public road?

Is the car on the road or footpath, it’s  usual for the chambers that Openreach need to access to provide FTTP to be in the road (although not impossible) much more likely to be in the footpath, and that’s the same for the water company to read metering equipment, so if the vehicle is on the footpath , or part footpath call the police as it’s causing an obstruction…you could also check on the Government site if the vehicle is currently taxed and MOT’d , people like this with no regard for their neighbours generally have no regard for anything , including the law , if it’s not taxed or MOT’d call the police they may take it away and crush it .

BikingBud

iniltous said:

hattiejordan said:

My son and his girlfriend bought their first home together a few months ago.  They ordered ultrafast broadband from Sky which they ideally need as she works from home.  When Openreach came to install, the neighbour who parks on the road, refused to move his car and has continued to refuse to do so ever since - this also caused problems when the water company wanted a reading as the water meter was covered by the car.  The neighbour very rarely moves his car from this spot as he has a van he uses for his day to day needs.  Where do they stand here as the road is a public road?

Is the car on the road or footpath, it’s  usual for the chambers that Openreach need to access to provide FTTP to be in the road (although not impossible) much more likely to be in the footpath, and that’s the same for the water company to read metering equipment, so if the vehicle is on the footpath , or part footpath call the police as it’s causing an obstruction…you could also check on the Government site if the vehicle is currently taxed and MOT’d , people like this with no regard for their neighbours generally have no regard for anything , including the law , if it’s not taxed or MOT’d call the police they may take it away and crush it .

If only. On all the police camera action shows, uninsured cars are allowed to be recovered, they should be crushed or sold at auction to cover costs.

Eldi_Dos

Brie said:

john1 said:

construct and maintain electronic communications networks and infrastructure (such as ducts, cabinets and poles) on public highways

none of which is required.

If there is a ductline or jointing chamber in place, a wayleave would have been sought and obtained before the installation.This gives whatever utility the right of access to maintain their plant.

In cases like the OP refers to the normal procedure after attempts to gain access have failed, would be to "card" the properties in the area informing that work was to be carried out on a set day and access had to be clear,usually that worked but if not they have the right to have the obstruction removed.

Eldi_Dos

iniltous said:

hattiejordan said:

My son and his girlfriend bought their first home together a few months ago.  They ordered ultrafast broadband from Sky which they ideally need as she works from home.  When Openreach came to install, the neighbour who parks on the road, refused to move his car and has continued to refuse to do so ever since - this also caused problems when the water company wanted a reading as the water meter was covered by the car.  The neighbour very rarely moves his car from this spot as he has a van he uses for his day to day needs.  Where do they stand here as the road is a public road?

 if it’s not taxed or MOT’d call the police they may take it away and crush it .

No need to call the Police, there is online reporting on the sites, once reported it will be dealt with, sometimes quite swiftly.

Oldwonam

Eldi_Dos said:

iniltous said:

 if it’s not taxed or MOT’d call the police they may take it away and crush it .

No need to call the Police, there is online reporting on the sites, once reported it will be dealt with, sometimes quite swiftly.

I'm doubtful this actually helps the OP, but for reference:

Check if a vehicle is taxed

Report an untaxed vehicle

Check the MOT status of a vehicle

Check if your vehicle is on the Motor Insurance Database

Note the insurance check is strictly only if you have permission to drive the vehicle.  If it shows as uninsured the Police should be interested, though I suspect more so if it's being driven.  You could report this anonymously.

The MOT check is also useful when buying a used car as it shows previous faults. 

Rob5342

Surely this is down to Openreach or the water company to sort out? There are manhole covers all over the place and it would be impossible for people to avoid parking over all of them, but the utility companies must have some right to access their own equipment. 

iniltous

Rob5342 said:

Surely this is down to Openreach or the water company to sort out? There are manhole covers all over the place and it would be impossible for people to avoid parking over all of them, but the utility companies must have some right to access their own equipment. 

As stated the overwhelming number of chambers that need to be accessed are in the footpath not the carriageway , if the vehicle is parked on the footpath it’s illegally parked , so the appropriate authorities need to be advised ( Police or Council ) what exactly do you expect Openreach to do in this situation ? , any approach made by an Openreach ‘tech’ to the vehicle owner to move the car would no doubt get the same answer as the OP’s relative…….if you think OR would start legal proceedings over this , it would require the same authorities ( Council or Police  ) to effect any legal remedy, so the OP may as well go directly to that authority, even if OR  made legal representations , it would take many months , if not years to get a ruling …..

if the OP confirms the car is legally parked on the road , and the ‘chamber’ OR need to access is in carriageway , so the neighbours has no obligation to move the car because they are not in violation of any law , that is the only way the police or local authority are not the appropriate place for the OP to approach and it becomes OR’s ‘problem’ but the likelihood of that is remote it’s almost certain that the OP is parked illegally on the path , and it’s  the council or police  job to enforce the law regarding illegal parking.

unforeseen

, , if the vehicle is parked on the footpath it’s illegally parked   

Only if you are in London or Scotland