Wayleave.co.uk Advice

Have you been asked to grant permission for a new electricity pole, overhead line, line support or buried cable to be installed on your property and to sign a NEW Electricity Wayleave or CHANGE an existing wayleave? - PLEASE DO NOT.

We advise against signing any standard electricity wayleave to allow NEW apparatus to be installed upon your property or to allow EXISTING lines/cables to be modified. We advise that you contact Wayleave.co.uk as soon as ANY wayleave is requested for any length of new overhead electricity line or buried cable, staywire, pole or pylon to be installed on your property.

1. Standard, so-called 'terminable' electricity wayleaves are NOT temporary - if anything they can be thought of as permanent. Independent study concludes that electricity wayleaves are quasi - permanent.
2. Once you have completed an electricity wayleave - Health and Safety Legislation imposes restrictions, which burden your land or property like a restrictive covenant but which cannot be negated. The Health and Safety Executive has powers to prosecute any person who infringes such restrictions e.g. At Spalding Magistrates Court in May 2002, fines and costs totalling £15,936.00 were imposed following a breach of the Health and Safety At Work Etc. Act 1974.
3. The electricity company will wish to apply its ESI wayleave payment rates - BUT - for example, ESI payment rate per metre for buried cable is 2 pence a year. The PARTIES INVOLVED HAVE FAILED TO REACH AGREEMENT ON THIS LOW LEVEL OF PAYMENT SINCE 1998 - nonetheless this payment rate is still quoted by the power companies.
4. We have a database of much HIGHER settlements, for overhead lines and buried cables and electricity apparatus including Sub-station Leases for example and other utilities, which we are able to use to negotiate COMPENSATION payments so far totalling ££££MILLIONS for our Clients.

The 1989 Electricity Act applies to 5-metres of underground service cable below the drive of a semi-detached house (e.g. to supply a new plot being built on adjacent land) in exactly the same way that it applies to a 400,000-volt pylon line running through a 300 acre, managed estate.

The 1989 Act applies to EVERY ELECTRICITY WAYLEAVE. It doesn't matter how small the electricity company's scheme is, if you sign an electricity wayleave - that wayleave can bind you and any future owner of your land or property. A future owner doesn't even need to accept a penny in wayleave rent - a previous wayleave can bind them, irrespective.

I find as a fact that although the wayleave consents are by their terms expressed to be terminable, all the electricity board's structures over and under the Estate are permanent structures unlikely to be removed for the foreseeable future.

Owners should obtain appropriate professional advice before allowing electricity apparatus to be installed or repositioned on their property.

Owners can benefit from our intervention at the outset to ensure they are not disadvantaged in the process.

What are your chances of a successful outcome?

Our clients include over 1,300 landowners within the UK.

Where we have identified a claim for compensation, we have succeeded in EACH CASE.