CalvinHobbes Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) We have a 3 phase electric pole right smack in the centre of our would be entrance, it's located on a strip of verge owned by the council. There is a stay which stretches around 4m into our land where our drive should be. This evening an electrician friend suggested it was a clear health and safety risk and if we said that to the network company they would have to move it. I was going to email them tomorrow but was wondering what exactly is the risk? Is it that a vehicle could hit it (particularly if we had the entrance a few feet to the side, or perhaps someone could easily walk into it? You really could either walk into it at eye level, neck level or further along trip up over the darn thing.There are currently 2 old coal sheds which are to be demolished and they are immediately behind the pole, I am really concerned the digger could cause damage to it. The guy from the electricity company suggested he could move the stay nearer the pole but still - it's in the way. It would still be obstructive. It also would be an eyesore. We really need that entrance to get the splay and I have someone with significant mobility issues so getting them inside the property, beside the entrance massively diminishes risk when moving them. Any suggestions re the right terminology to use? Edited December 17, 2022 by CalvinHobbes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 By the looks of the picture it is not staying much as it is so loose. Two things, firstly you should have a wayleave for that stay, if not you can apply for one and then, revoke it and I think they have to take it away unless they can show it must remain (not stay - did you see what I did there?). Secondly I cannot see them moving that pole unless you are prepared to pay for it and you are looking at both a very big bill and a heap of disruption. Having said that we have been working with our DNO (UK Power Networks) for 4 years trying to get a stay slightly moved so the wire does not go through the roof of our cycle shed! Frankly I would look at moving your entrance, left or right, it will be much simpler and a lot cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 PS the wire coming from the pole over you land, is that going to feed your build or go over it? If it will go over it then you do have a case to have it moved / buried as I believe they are not allowed to run an open cable over a property. If they have to move that then some of the tensions in the whole system around that pole will change they will have to deal with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 I suspect the stay will have to stay. If I am understanding your pictures, the stay is perpendicular to the road, so putting your entrance to one side of the pole, it will not be blocking the entrance. To prevent people walking into it, I would plant a row of shrubs / bushes directly underneath it and let them grow high enough and the stay will be hidden, embeded in the greenery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvin Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Our friends had a similar problem. The cost to move the pole was horrendous so they redesigned the entrance to the site. That stay is doing nothing so there’s an immediate health and safety angle. I would push the fact you have someone with significant mobility issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) You’ve two options Live with it Or pay to have it re routed The later would be expensive But save you going around in circles for months A friend of ours has been going through this for over two years in order to sell his building plot Three dropped out buyers later and 500 quid to a planning consultant Hes admitted defeat and is paying for the pole to be moved 8 weeks time it will just be a bad memory Edited December 17, 2022 by nod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalvinHobbes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 Thank you and darn. So if we move the entrance a few feet over and let the pole be on the edge even for now - what if one of the lorries coming in with blocks/trusses etc hit it? (As I have seen with entrance pillars a lot when lorries are concerned)? I will tie a high vis jacket around it to try and avoid it but if it did happen who would pay, what would happen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 The driver would be responsible. You may have issues with delivery drivers refusing to operate a hiab unless then can pull completely off the road onto your land so they are far enough from the cables for the hiab not to reach them. And in any event if you are building within 10 metres of the cables, you will have issues and I think under 6 metres is a definate no (it was when I enquired) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 36 minutes ago, CalvinHobbes said: Thank you and darn. So if we move the entrance a few feet over and let the pole be on the edge even for now - what if one of the lorries coming in with blocks/trusses etc hit it? (As I have seen with entrance pillars a lot when lorries are concerned)? I will tie a high vis jacket around it to try and avoid it but if it did happen who would pay, what would happen? Your big issue is, as Dave says, is that you won't be able to offload materials on the road side, you'll need to ensure a 40fter can pull right in to the site and out again, that's the worst case. That's a tall order. What will probably need to happen is that you'll have to unload on opposite of road and use a telehandler to bring stuff in to the site. When ordering materials or plant, ensure they use the shortest rigid lorry they have. We have OH cables on the opposite side of the road to us, and they still caused issues. E.g. couldn't unload a digger the other week as the boom was too close as the driver needed to swing the machine round 180 (block grab and buckets on the bed as well that had to come off first) to offload. Was a faff and took nearly an hour to get the things off. Youll need to erect goal posts under the cables one way or another. Find out from NIE if they are HV or LV, as that impacts things as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Dig it out and don’t tell anyone, it’s slack so not doing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 1 hour ago, ProDave said: The driver would be responsible. You may have issues with delivery drivers refusing to operate a hiab unless then can pull completely off the road onto your land so they are far enough from the cables for the hiab not to reach them. And in any event if you are building within 10 metres of the cables, you will have issues and I think under 6 metres is a definate no (it was when I enquired) Plus 1 You will have loads of issues with drivers wanting to drop off at the roadside It won’t matter that you have a video of a lorry twice there size sailing past it Most will use as an excuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 I am pretty sure that's 3 phase, neutral and earth 240V so "Low Voltage" in DNO speak. I don't know if that changes how close you can build to it or not? but will still affect materials unloading and if you need a crane etc. I am not sure from the plan you posted earlier which is new and which is existing buildings, and how far from the pole they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalvinHobbes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 1 hour ago, ProDave said: I am pretty sure that's 3 phase, neutral and earth 240V so "Low Voltage" in DNO speak. I don't know if that changes how close you can build to it or not? but will still affect materials unloading and if you need a crane etc. I am not sure from the plan you posted earlier which is new and which is existing buildings, and how far from the pole they are? Yep it is deffo 3 phase and the plan is for the new buildings and have passed planning permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 Ah, so it's a multi house development, not just a single self build. Surely then it is worth paying to have at least one span of that cable run undergrounded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalvinHobbes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) Only 2 of the buildings are going up, the one nearest the edge isn't (it's a garage and it's put on the back burner due to cost. One on the houses is for me and my family, next door is for close family member. We are doing both at same time/working together to get cost savings, they are very similar construction and will use same builder/tradespeople/crane etc. So 2 self builds together. I thought you can't run 3 phase cable underneath? Edited December 17, 2022 by CalvinHobbes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalvinHobbes Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 Re getting things in,opposite end/ front is steep but no poles/wires.🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProDave Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 1 hour ago, CalvinHobbes said: Only 2 of the buildings are going up, the one nearest the edge isn't (it's a garage and it's put on the back burner due to cost. One on the houses is for me and my family, next door is for close family member. We are doing both at same time/working together to get cost savings, they are very similar construction and will use same builder/tradespeople/crane etc. So 2 self builds together. I thought you can't run 3 phase cable underneath? That makes sense. Yes anything can go underground but it may not be cheap. A local self builder here had about a 200 metre run of 3 phase 10KV overhead buried and including his new connection for his house cost him in the region of £10K. It was a must for him as the line went right where the house was to be built. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 18 hours ago, ProDave said: That makes sense. Yes anything can go underground but it may not be cheap. A local self builder here had about a 200 metre run of 3 phase 10KV overhead buried and including his new connection for his house cost him in the region of £10K. It was a must for him as the line went right where the house was to be built. I wasn’t going to guess a figure But my friend has paid about that as he simply couldn’t sell his plot We had delivery yesterday of a hundred ridge tiles and the driver was refusing to take them round the back of the house Even though we have footage of a crane going round there Any excuse Your right to try to deal with it now Many people just put it off 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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