Electricity Wayleave Termination - problem

[glpcboat]

We own a small paddock alongside our house - with electricity pole, 5 cables and transformer - that feeds our house one side, and a 30+ caravan park the other.

We bought the paddock about 5 years ago and have never signed a wayleave for this apparatus. We wrote to the electricity provider in April 2011 giving the statutory 12 months notice for them to remove their equipment, which they acknowledged in writing. The equipment is still in our paddock and they said it would just take some time to organise the re-route of the cables and another host for the transformer. We have been patient so far.

In order to progress the project, about 12 months ago they requested that we given them £2,000 for reconnection of a new cable to our house. We believe they have been making some headway with the arrangements to move the equipment. However, the owner of the caravan park that this transformer feeds, has refused to let them dig up his driveway to lay a cable to feed his caravans and now the electricity company have sent us an email stating that if we want the transformer & equipment moved, we need to let them lay an underground cable the length of our paddock (to feed into the existing cables for the caravan park). The paddock is a perfect size building plot for the future and because of an oak tree with preservation order, the cable will end up being almost in the right in the middle of the space, exactly where we would not want it. We do not want ANY equipment on our paddock at all, buried or not - but before we submit our answer, does anyone have any advice please.Thank you in advance.

 

[deniser]

You will probably need a solicitor to look through the registered title of both properties as the caravan park owner may have rights over your land which you need to check out in any case if you are thinking of developing and selling off this land.

 

[glpcboat]

Thank you for response - I have looked through all the paperwork for the paddock and the only wayleave amongst the paperwork is dated 1965 with a 21 year term (with 12 months notice required). This has obviously expired and we are the third owner of the land since the person who signed the wayleave back in 1965. We gave 12 months notice in 2011, but the 21 year term had already expired and was never signed by us. I seem to recall many years ago the transformer in question, may have been previously positioned in the boundary line - between our paddock and the caravan park - then was moved further into our paddock, so I am pretty sure the owner of the caravan park doesn't have any paperwork. Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Clodbuster]

It has been there since 1965 and you want it moved now - I hope you are paying for it to be moved especially as it supplies your house.

 

[glpcboat]

The electricity company wanted to upgrade the transformer and add another pole which we did not agree to. They have found another position for the main transformer and are connecting other households via underground cables. They have not asked us to pay for its removal but we have to pay to re-connect a new underground line to our house.

 

[Billmccallum]

Has the EC applied for "an application for the grant of the necessary wayleave"?

see http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2009CSOH155.html

 

[glpcboat]

No they haven't applied for a necessary wayleave. We haven't given them 'notice to remove' yet, just the 12 months initial notice. The adjacent caravan park owner is just being awkward, the new cable they want to bury in the middle of our paddock is to serve his caravans only. We get another branch off somewhere else to our house.