Denying access to cable for neighbours

[EatsShitAndLeaves]

So I got a letter in the post from Virgin Media who are in our locality.

They want me to give permission to lay cable down my drive to access the houses behind.

I live in an old farmhouse with a big front/back garden- before we moved in after the "field" at the back was sold and 3 houses built on it.

They have access to their property via my drive - but I own the drive.

I've done a very shitty picture to illustrate...R is road, G is garden and D is Drive. My house is the rectangle.

It's not to scale. The drive is very long and we spent a lot of money block paving it when we moved in.

I'm not at all keen on this being ripped up and botched reinstated.

As we are on the Main Street we would get access to Virgin services regardless. Allowing the work gains us nothing - apart from stress and hassle.

However if I deny the work then my neighbours can't take this service.

AIBU to refuse access?

Just no.

Meh thanks for that. Really helpful to have industry insight.

Loving some IT posts - yes the world is changing and I probably know more about it than a lot of people given my job!

It still doesn't solve a dilemma - which is do I piss the neighbours off or not!

So far it's a don't do it.

Ok - DH is home.

I'm going to show him the thread.

My conclusion so far, is no. It's just too much of a risk/burden.

Silly question-

If you might have VM through your garden, why can't it continue to your neighbours that way rather than through your drive?

It would involve digging under my house....

You still don't know if you actually have a dilemma, though!
1/ The neighbours might not give a stuff about VM. Indeed, they might be glad that VM will not barrage them with letters about the new availability in their area.
2/ If the neighbours do want VM, you might have no legal right to stop them. (Because of this, do not ask them!! They might not know it's an option!!)
3/ Only if the neighbours know about it and want it but have no rights to install a cable over your land do you have a moral dilemma. So I'd be putting worrying over it off until it's actually an issue. (Disclaimer: I'm lazy when it comes to worrying.)

Look for your deeds pleeeeeaasse

I can't think of the name but don't they have those special machine things that can actually go under the driveway/house without digging it up - not cheap so wouldn't be their first choice but they must have them???

I want to say ferret but it's not that

Ferret

Any chance your DH will know where the deeds are, Eats?

It's mole!!! These things do exist - earth tunnelling mole, for hire from Martin Plant Hire

"A pneumatically powered burrowing poker for creating underground channels for pipe and cable laying. Saves on time and labour costs."

There you go - sure you van have access to my land but you're not digging anything up just get your mole here instead

I don't think there is a dilemma. A broadband cable isn't essential so it is highly unlikely the neighbours would be able to compel the OP to have it put in. The relevant document is the title register, which the OP can download for £3 from the gov.uk Land Registry website. She can obtain any additional documents referred to in the title register by completing a form - OC2 - and paying a nominal fee.

With anything like having a pipe or cable laid across your land, it's not just the installation which could potentially cause issues but the maintenance and access to it if anything goes wrong.

No I wouldn't. I agreed to have cabling into the building in our old flat. They made a right bloody mess. Cable is not essential.

I've not read the full thread but just to add Virgin is currently been laid where we live and they've made one hell of a mess , it's been stopped by complaints to the council so many times that it's now running weeks behind schedule . The workmen ( Mcnichols are doing our roads) are very pleasant, happy to move stuff etc but the state of the work is appalling .

I'm curious nosy. If you own the drive, what made you give access to the houses built behind you. I have a shared drive which we all own, but if I owned it outright and new houses were built, I wouldn't agree to them using it.

Anyway, I would say no to virgin. Why risk your property when there is no gain for you.

The Field behind the house was already developed when we bought it.

OP, I'm glad you're not my neighbour. What happened to helping people out? Today a lively woman from Virgin came to sort out the cable for our Internet service. This involved drilling through the neighbour's wall and laying cable under their lawn. Fortunately our neighbours are lovely, and they have been kind and understanding. I know Internet access isn't life-or-death, but it's pretty important when I need it for work. Thank goodness for lovely neighbours. (And as it happens, we own the shared-access land on the other side of our house, and are quite happily letting these same neighbours make some changes that they want to make there.)

"Lovely" not "lively"! FFS! Although she was quite lively I suppose.

Just No. Don't apologise and don't explain. Just No.

EatsShitAndLeaves what is that round ish thing at the end of your drive a pond or a house?. It looks to me if that area has the room then they may not need to dig up your drive or Mole under it either. The cable could well go at the end of the drive just under any soil or lawn that might be there. The cable in use is only the same size as the one for TV or more like a cable of that sort and one that's on the side of it i believe they call it "sidecar". It is designed for direct bury, no duct required.

I think your best bet is to get them round to look and if they can do that then there may well not be a problem there anyway. Could ask your neighbors if they want to take their service or not.

I think you would be very mean spirited to refuse something you're planning on using yourself. You bought a house which allowed neighbors access via your drive- surely you considered this type of thing before buying?

As the old saying goes treat others how you would wish to be treated. Am truly shocked by all the people agreeing you should not allow it.

I'm so grateful for this thread. Last week I received a letter from virgin media saying they want to dig up my property to provide me and my neighbours with broadband. It doesn't say which part of my property, I don't know if it's driveway, garden or path that leads to back garden. In the letter was a contract for me to sign. It small letters it said if I sign I am also giving them future access to do repairs etc.

It says they will be very grateful if I will sign it and send it back in the envelope provided. Are they crazy? I'm going to sign this contract allowing them to dig up an undetermined part of my property whenever they want? I don't think so! I'm expecting trouble when they realise I'm not responding.

So glad to hear people's experiences. If they do something without my permission when I'm not home I will be furious. They sound horrendous based on people's experiences here.

We are saying no because our collective experiences tell us that tbis could turn into a major pita for the OP. Her property could br damaged, she could be left having to fight for proper repair, if there are future faults, it could all get ripped up again. None of this is for her benefit.
It isn't about being a nice neighbour.

I allowed Virgin Media temporary access across my land so that my neighbours could have an Internet line. This was in December and I was promised that the cable would be removed within 3 weeks. It's still there. No one at Virgin will discuss the issue with me when I call them because the only notes about what's happening are on my neighbours' account and the call centre can't tell me what they say "for data protection issues". My attempts to get this resolved are now being completely ignored after an unproductive call with the complaints team in which I was told that Virgin Media have a legal right to use my land to supply others (they don't). The case has now been passed to the legal team who Have done nothing with it. I don't even have the name of a contact who should be dealing with this. They just don't care. I'm going to have to sue them to get it resolved.

Don't do this under any circumstances. It's good to be a good neighbour but not where the cost to you is potentially so huge.

I would be amazed if there's anything in the deeds giving the neighbours carte blanche to dig your drive up every time they decide they need a new service. We have a shared drive and the deeds only refer to rights of way and routine maintenance. No way would I be agreeing to have a £10K drive relaid on a neighbour's behalf.

Just tell Virgin no. If your neighbours approach you, reconsider.