Can ESB bury equipment on your land without your knowledge or consent?

cars14

I found ESB contractors burying equipment in my garden beside an electricity pole. They were on my land without my knowledge or consent. They weren't doing repairs as they were installing equipment for a new house 250metres away in the farm next to you.

1. Can ESB come onto your land without telling you?
2. Can ESB install new equipment underground on your land for someone's elses house?
3. Can I get the files from the ESB about this new equipment buried in my land?
4. How can I get it removed?

milkprofit

cars14 wrote: »

I found ESB contractors burying equipment in my garden beside an electricity pole. They were on my land without my knowledge or consent. They weren't doing repairs as they were installing equipment for a new house 250metres away in the farm next to you.

1. Can ESB come onto your land without telling you? n
n
NO only in emergencey
2. Can ESB install new equipment underground on your land for someone's elses house? Only by agreement
3. Can I get the files from the ESB about this new equipment buried in my land?
4. How can I get it removed?

uuuuuu

foxy farmer

Well speaking as a former ESB employee this type of attitude was all too common. Arguing about legal rights and your entitlements is childish tbh.
1Yes they can come onto your property anytime provided its in connection with their equipment.
2.Yes they can install extra equipment alongside existing equipment on your property.
3.If the work is only minor eg burying earth cable as i suspect in your case no file would be kept. Just enquire and ascertain exactly what they are installing.
4.Forget it. Unless you know better and that whatever has been fitted can be put somewhere else.
Be nice. It goes a long way.

punisher5112

Say they plan on erecting poles/lines and such they will be in contact 1st and both may come to an agreement of maybe a slight change or route.

But as said above they must be able to access all their equipment whether you are happy with that or not.

cars14

They never tell me before they come onto my property. 6 times a variety of Contractors from all over the world have seen on my property over the past 8 years and never telling me. They even put up new equipment for new houses without telling me.

looksee

Seems to be a lot of aggression towards the OP's question! I reckon if they had contacted him to discuss what they were going to do he would not have had to have 'this type of attitude'.

I think I would be annoyed if I woke up to find the ESB digging my garden without some sort of discussion or information. The fact that the ESB have rights to get to their equipment is not in dispute, a bit of communication first would sort the vast majority of problems.

Edit: well now that does seem like a plague of contractors OP, maybe a notice asking them to make contact first would help?

satstheway

foxy farmer wrote: »

Well speaking as a former ESB employee this type of attitude was all too common. Arguing about legal rights and your entitlements is childish tbh.
1Yes they can come onto your property anytime provided its in connection with their equipment.
2.Yes they can install extra equipment alongside existing equipment on your property.
3.If the work is only minor eg burying earth cable as i suspect in your case no file would be kept. Just enquire and ascertain exactly what they
are installing.
4.Forget it. Unless you know better and that whatever has been fitted can be put somewhere else.
Be nice. It goes a long way.

Always worry about this. Transformer in garden on pole and another pole also in garden.
if they came and buried a earth through my geothermal ground source collector damaging what cost me 12000 to bury I would not be happy.
surly they would ask before doing any digging.
they do ask before cutting branches and I never say no.

Username John

looksee wrote: »

Seems to be a lot of aggression towards the OP's question! I reckon if they had contacted him to discuss what they were going to do he would not have had to have 'this type of attitude'.

I think I would be annoyed if I woke up to find the ESB digging my garden without some sort of discussion or information. The fact that the ESB have rights to get to their equipment is not in dispute, a bit of communication first would sort the vast majority of problems.

Edit: well now that does seem like a plague of contractors OP, maybe a notice asking them to make contact first would help?

True.

But imagine the opposite scenario :

You want to get power connected to a house - you ring the ESB, they say

"Oh yeah, we know what to do, but we need to connect to a pole in Pats field next door to you, Pat doesn't seem to be at home, or isnt answering the phone, we left him a message. So you cant get the connection til Pat gets back to us. When will that be, oh, we don't know, that's up to Pat"

Then you tell em, you know Pat, work away, as he's in Australia...

The phone goes dead...

cars14

The people building the house have their own farm and why couldn't the new equipment be on their land not beside my bedroom?
Nobody even asked me.
On 6 occassions the ESB have been on my property and never asked my consent eg putting up a new pole in my drive making it dangerous for me to drive up the hill to my house.

johndeere3350

It's only there job I can't see why they wouldn't let them at it unless there making a quarry out of your place.
ESB and council workers must ge sick to death of lads with nothing better to watching them and arguing about everything.
No an attack at the Op but wouldnt it be better just leave them at it.
There mustn't be much worring lads if what the ESB are digging bothered them

Username John

cars14 wrote: »

The people building the house have their own farm and why couldn't the new equipment be on their land not beside my bedroom?
Nobody even asked me.
On 6 occassions the ESB have been on my property and never asked my consent eg putting up a new pole in my drive making it dangerous for me to drive up the hill to my house.

I think they should speak with you about poles, but I dont know if they should have to seek your permission to come onto your property.
I dont know the exact rules / laws though, thats just my own opinion.

What have the people who are building the house said , when you asked them about it?

foxy farmer

Any chance of a few pics? If a new pole has been stood it is highly possible that further digging may be needed to install earth cables power cables or stay wires.
The general public have only a very limited understanding of how the electricity network functions. Theres a whole host of equipment required for its safe operation both above and below ground.

foxy farmer

satstheway wrote: »

Always worry about this. Transformer in garden on pole and another pole also in garden.
if they came and buried a earth through my geothermal ground source collector damaging what cost me 12000 to bury I would not be happy.
surly they would ask before doing any digging.
they do ask before cutting branches and I never say no.

This works both ways. What about the geothermal collector being installed and damaging ESB cable etc because someone couldn't be bothered checking things with them first?
Digging or installing anything anything underground within 20 mts of ESB equipment should be given the OK beforehand.

Milked out

cars14 wrote: »

The people building the house have their own farm and why couldn't the new equipment be on their land not beside my bedroom?
Nobody even asked me.
On 6 occassions the ESB have been on my property and never asked my consent eg putting up a new pole in my drive making it dangerous for me to drive up the hill to my house.

Did you contact them?

_Brian

I would always say tread softly with the ESB.. A new line came across this way when I was a young lad, a neighboring farm were very disruptive as they didn't want the line going through the farm.
after much arguing of course the ESB were let in to bring the line across the farm, three poles required, all placed in the worst possible locations for the farmer where on other farms they were placed as considerately as possible.

Manach

I'd be favouring the OP here. The dimunation of property rights as to what can and how access is acquire to land is a reflection of the fairly arrogant attitude state / semi state agencies have to land. The peaceful enjoyment of such by the OP being disruption in a disproportionate manner is outside the normal exemptions the state law gives to state employees. This a matter of concern least one goes from a land owner in name only.

Kop On

What if one of the contractors that had come on to the land unannounced got injured while on the land, who is liable then?

What is the OP has a dog and he bites one of the contractors on the OPs own land or say the OP has a piece of machinery in the field or yard and a contractor injures himself falling over or crashing in to it, who is liable then?

I think the OP has every right to be put out or worried about contractors arriving unannounced on to his land to dig up and carry out work.

Milton09

Kop On wrote: »

What if one of the contractors that had come on to the land unannounced got injured while on the land, who is liable then?

What is the OP has a dog and he bites one of the contractors on the OPs own land or say the OP has a piece of machinery in the field or yard and a contractor injures himself falling over or crashing in to it, who is liable then?

I think the OP has every right to be put out or worried about contractors arriving unannounced on to his land to dig up and carry out work.

+1

And add in the not unimportant issue of biosecurity, huge potential for spread of disease given the amount of ground these guys cover.

freedominacup

Milton09 wrote: »

+1

And add in the not unimportant issue of biosecurity, huge potential for spread of disease given the amount of ground these guys cover.

I presume you make no phone calls to esb helplines on stormy nights and when the boys do rock up at half past mad o'clock in the morning you're out with your little Gloria sprayer with the disinfectant to spray everything including the dog before they are allowed to get soaked to the bollix reconnecting you. The ESB have pretty much unfettered access precisely because there are people like you in the world.

A utility needed power connected to one of their sites in my area last year. New site. Access was through corn ground ready for harvest. The Esb just waited the week until the corn was harvested and then went about their business. I've never had any bother with siting of poles or anything else. Any time they were replacing poles they always consulted us. One particularly difficult pole was moved five yards to the edge of the roadway to facilitate us when it was being replaced and there was no compunction on them to do it.

Blackgrass

Put padlocks on gates, give a copy to local supervisor of services that run through that block get a new set of locks every 4-5 years so no one ha a key for too long that shouldn't. Request a curtosy call and if someone starts taking the p change again forgetting to pass on a copy

mf240

Ive seen both sides of it.

Discovered them with two poles landed in a silage field to put up a new line. Never contacted me before hand but tried to tell me i got a letter.

I pretty much threw all the toys out of the pram and they ended up making do with just one pole and right next the fence.

They changed poles here lately and they asked before hand. They got stuck with their hilux in one field and i just got the tractor and chain and dragged them over to where they needed to be and let them get on with it.

Asking first really makes a difference imo.

KatyMac

ESB put a new line across my silage fields a few years ago. I got a letter showing me where they intended to put the poles and I asked them if they could reposition as they were going to have 3 in 1 field. They changed the position without a problem, and ended up with 1 in the middle of the field and the rest along fence. I noticed recently the field is sinking around the one in the middle, so expect some of these days to see the pole disappeared down a sinkhole.

Sam Kade

The esb came into my field one time while the cows were in the field and drove them mad no such thing as asking beforehand :mad:

Milton09

freedominacup wrote: »

A utility needed power connected to one of their sites in my area last year. New site. Access was through corn ground ready for harvest. The Esb just waited the week until the corn was harvested and then went about their business. I've never had any bother with siting of poles or anything else. Any time they were replacing poles they always consulted us. One particularly difficult pole was moved five yards to the edge of the roadway to facilitate us when it was being replaced and there was no compunction on them to do it.

Well good for you ! you were one on the lucky ones. In my field last year Networks arrived in with two tracked articulated booms (without consultation), tracked 200m to the end of the field, parked them beside a set of poles for a week and then on the wettest day of the summer came back to remove them. Got stuck with one half way up the field and had to return with the other to pull it out and, wait for it ..... then fecked off without saying a word - absolute mess.

I'm as reasonable as the next but I wont tolerate disrespect like that.

freedominacup

Milton09 wrote: »

I'm as reasonable as the next but I wont tolerate disrespect like that.

From the sound of things you have. Contractors or esb workers are obliged to reinstate your land to your satisfaction.

ganmo

freedominacup wrote: »

From the sound of things you have. Contractors or esb workers are obliged to reinstate your land to your satisfaction.

Was thinking of the right way to say that. contractors managed to plough one field when going into a pylon. took some complaining but we finally got recognition of the damage caused

Farmer Pudsey

The Esb like any utility has rights as well as responsbilities. The reason being is it cannot always wait for premission to connect or repair it network. Inthis day and age like many utilities it uses contractors a lot and this leads to difficulties when issues arise. However in general I find them easy enough to deal with. I have a pole at back of garden and they are constantly cutting trees etc.

Generally no issue however back on farm a few years ago they cut branches and left them on Electric fences etc. A few years ago they had to replace a few poles. By the time they came to change the wire over I had a field of peas and barley set. I happened to meet the crew a few days before as they were doing another job locally. The ganger came up with me said they would only chane over the wire and leave 2nd pole in place until crop was taken out this was only late May.

I then mentioned that the wires were going accross the entrance of the yard and could insulated wire be used instead of the present open wire. He said he was not sure as it would be a cost on the ESB. However when they came they replaced the wire with insulated wire cable.

Yes they shpuld reinstate any damage however a contractor may try to get awayu with this as it is an extra cost on them but generally ESB it self will force them to comply. In any organisation there are good and bad apples it is only a matter of dealing with same.

OP yes the ESB have the right to bury earth rods, earth plates and cabvles to connect to adjacent customers however I am sure if you ring and look put in place reasonable access protocols then this will happen. As for Blackgrass and padlocks on gates in the case of an emergency or even an ordinaert fault they would have the right to cut same and return with a replacement if the key was not available.