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[moojuice]

What are your experiences of getting a pole moved by Openreach?

There's an Openreach Distribution Pole outside my house, right inbetween the garden path and driveway, making it a pain in the arse to park two cars on the front without one car doing a 10 point shuffle. Pole was there since the 70s and the front garden converted to driveway in the late 90s, so I'm gonna have to pay if I want this moved. Paid Openreach (well a Cheque to "British Telecommunications PLC" for the survey fee as their credit card line was not manned due to covid, and should hopefully see an engineer tomorrow to assess the options to give a formal quote.

Anyone had similar work done and if so, how much did they sting you for? Was it an administrative nightmare getting them to do the work or were they on the ball? I guess this might be one way (albeit a costly one) to get myself a shiny new dropwire and maybe a few megs extra speed, if nothing else!

[tubaman]

OpenReach's prices are publicly available - https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/pricing/loadPricing.do
Exactly which menu items are needed for your job I'm not sure though.

[moojuice]

Never knew all that was there! Thanks

So yes, had a good chat with the engineer today. I get the distinct impression this is not going to be cheap, given the underground jointbox is in the middle of a busy road, might need 2 way traffic lights, some trenching on the pavement, relocating a single house across the road onto another DP perhaps. I await the estimate and will be sat down when I read it!

[sdawson35]

We had to have a pole moved for work  - total cost was just north of 11k (assume business to business rates significantly higher than residential)

[tubaman]

If there's roadworks and other digging involved then I suspect you're right in thinking that sitting down will be a good plan before reading the quote!

[tickmike]

At £11000 I think it would have a large lorry reversing into it and just accidentally knock it down  .

I hope you are receiving a yearly payment for it being on your land !, if not tell them to move it ASAP else you are taking them to court.

[niemand]

The original post implies it's on public footway: there's mention of a front garden converted into a driveway and later on mention of trenching in the footpath.

You can't take Openreach to court regarding private land if they've an easement, neither are you due annual payments.

Wayleave may come with an annual fee, depending on agreement, easement doesn't.

Think OP has looked at this and is resigned to paying the piper.

[niemand]

... given the underground jointbox is in the middle of a busy road, might need 2 way traffic lights, some trenching on the pavement, relocating a single house across the road onto another DP perhaps...

Oh mate. Need some KY?

[tubaman]

Oh mate. Need some KY?

 

[moojuice]

KY? Don't Openreach use cable lube in tight holes and ducts?

Yes, the pole is on the public footpath, but right at the edge next to the line where the path ends and driveway begins. Paying the BT piper is the only option here I think, if I want it moved. If I don't do it now and put it off for a few years, by then said pole will also (hopefully) have Toob FTTP hanging off it and lord knows what else. Moving a copper only service on the pole will probably make it slightly less eye-watering.

[moojuice]

So I thought I would update this.

The quote came back. Just shy of £10k and even then if they found unexpected issues, they could ask me to pony up some more cash midway thru the job!
I could swallow £5-6k but that is way too much. Most of the cost I think is the need to dig in the road and for temp traffic lights on said major road. They can't just cone it off and maybe use a stop-go board.

Oh Well!

[burakkucat]

Thank you for the update. I am not that surprised with the price quoted.

[Black Sheep]

So I thought I would update this.

The quote came back. Just shy of £10k and even then if they found unexpected issues, they could ask me to pony up some more cash midway thru the job!
I could swallow £5-6k but that is way too much. Most of the cost I think is the need to dig in the road and for temp traffic lights on said major road. They can't just cone it off and maybe use a stop-go board.

Oh Well!

H&S is gospel - if the local HA demand 2/3/4 head, T/lights, then that is what we have to run with. Plus, once you start going into carriageway trenching, the synthetics per metre start to rise because the surface changes to a different 'type' (Type 1, type 2 etc etc).

As the OP has mooted himself, there's other 'alteration work' involved as well.

It is what it is, the pole was there long before the OP decided to re-work his garden/driveway ... as a business, we can't just 'Rock up and move it FOC'. Knowing the rough costs of such an operation, it sounds like the quote is there or thereabouts. 

[hopkins35]

Sorry to hijack this thread but it's a related topic.

My Mum's house is fed by pole and the line crosses the neighbour's property via some very large conifer trees which over time, due to being a quite exposed area, have damaged the line on several occasions which has led to it being replaced. Previous engineers have mentioned moving the pole but she's a widow in her late 70s and wouldn't know how to go about it and certainly wouldn't want to pay upwards of £10k.

Is there a case for Openreach to move it FOC due to its inappropriate position and crossing of two neighbouring properties?

Picture attached for clarity, courtesy of g**gle and my poor photoshopping

[j0hn]

Is there a case for Openreach to move it FOC due to its inappropriate position and crossing of two neighbouring properties?

In short, no.
If they moved every pole with lines touching trees they would be very busy indeed.

The crossing of neighbouring properties is perfectly normal and what the vast majority of telegraph poles do.

Conifers grow very quickly. They likely weren't an issue when the pole was erected.

OpenReach are far more likely to send out a team to cut the trees back than they are to move the pole.