Injunction Form 16 A

[Winfred]

After 12 months battle with Openreach, I am now forced to issue an Injunction to remove cables crossing my land without a wayleave which, due to Health and Safety regulations are obstructing the access to my house. Even a fuel oil delivery company cannot deliver due to the risk of static electricity from the cables above my access where the vehicle would have to park. Any vehicle with a HIAB or other lifting device is prevented from unloading due to the cables directly above where they would have to park. Access is very restricted. New H&S regulations state that no loading should be undertaken underneath cables, no matter what the height. It is of course up to each individual company to set its own health and safety rules, and so I am in no position to argue each time about their interpretation of the rules. Fortunately I have found an oil company that has not made an issue about it this year, but I cannot guarantee that it will be like that next time I order oil, and of course it would limit my choice of supplier. When having building materials delivered, however, it is an absolute nightmare - they have to be unloaded elsewhere and transported manually from there - and all this in a rural single track road - you can imagine the chaos. Without the cables, they could all pull onto my small forecourt to deliver, but not with the cables.

I am in the process of issuing an Injunction under the Communications Act 2003, section 74 (4) using Form N16A. However, there is a box for me to tick to indicate whether this is a Part 8 claim which I understand is an accelerated trial process. Is this a suitable process to adopt ? The facts cannot be disputed, especially as Openreach have now also been given notice by the electricity company to remove the Openreach cables from the electricity telegraph poles - there are no poles on my land; the cables fly over my land from poles in neighbouring gardens, for which Openreach admit they have no wayleave. I have been fighting this battle for 12 months now and I am getting desperate.

From what I can see, Part 8 would be quicker and simpler, but I do not know whether it is appropriate in a case like this. I would appreciate any comments.

[ostell]

Is this not connected with your previous thread?

[Winfred]

Is this not connected with your previous thread?

Yes, I am afraid that it is but I could not find the previous thread ! The form N16A is all ready to go and I have given them a final deadline of Friday 13th (not unlucky for me !). I have spoken to the Court and this can be done by email and they will call me to take the payment by credit card. So all I now have to decide is whether to tick the box for Part 8 or not.

[ostell]

This one Telecommunications Act 2003 - how to seek an Order - LegalBeagles Forum

[des8]

Ignore those three boxes at the top:
1..you don't have any pending proceedings (do you?)
2you're not acting under any statutory provisions
3. you're not making a claim (are you?)

You need a sworn affidavit, so when you see your solicitor to swear it, ask him to glance quickly at your form and submission, to make sure it's correct.

[Winfred]

Thank you to all who advised me about this. I have had a good result at last. I sent a copy of the injunction before applying to the Court giving them notice it would be lodged with the Court after 7 days without further notice. Suddenly, there has been action ! Openreach have applied to my neighbours on either side of me for agreement to a wayleave to bury the cables between the road and the poles in the garden. They have not formally advised me that they are going to bury the cables in the road in front of my property in order to by-pass me between the poles, but from various communications, it is clear that they will be cutting a slit trench in the road for that purpose.

All the 25 visits made by 25 different people to my inspect the property (and a visit by the Police warning me not to pursue the matter) resulted in nothing except a final letter from Openreach last October, insisting that they had the right to cross my land and closing the case. The N16A application for Injunction has suddenly changed all that, and the irony is that the neighbour on one side has been offered £160 for a wayleave to allow them to bury the cable in his garden from the pole in his garden to the road ! I assume the neighbours on the other side will in due course be offered something similar. Both of them have already been paid for wayleaves for the poles by the electricity company, presumably for aerial cables only, not underground cables !

So I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is really going to happen, and it will be an end of delivery companies refusing to unload underneath the cables when there is nowhere else to do so. The latest episode of that was a heating oil company who declined to fill my oil tank due to risk of explosion caused by static electricity from the cables ! Fortunately, I found another who did not even comment (and was cheaper !). Health and Safety Regulations have gone mad.

I am wondering whether I should write to the Chief Constable to ask for an apology when the work has finally been done. I was astonished that the Police had any right to interfere in what was a civil matter, not a criminal one. I can understand that happens in China, but in the UK ?