Installation Wayleave

[Claymore]

Hi,

I'm hoping to find some answers here that no one at NTL has been able to provide me with (there have been some helpful people, but none of them have been able to go into as much detail as I'd have liked).

The problem is this: I've just bought a flat and have been looking at getting cable or ADSL (cable preferred, otherwise I'm stuck with a measly 1.5Mb/s and I use broadband on a daily basis as I'm a self employed games programmer!) and discovered that the street was wired for NTL. Upon enquiring further I was told that the street is cabled, but the flat building isn't and the reason for this is that the people on the ground floor objected to it and apparently this is called a waylay.

After reading this thread: http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=10001 it's a little bit clearer as to what the problem is, however...

1) Why do they need permission from the person on the ground floor when there's a HUGE communal staircase they can go through which already has access areas for pipeworks and other things?

2) I'm a little confused about what they mean by the ground floor as in this case the ground floor is all garages (one of which I now own) and the flats don't start until the first floor.

3) If the communal staircase isn't an option, is there any other way around it other than getting the person on the ground floor to agree to it all?

Thanks for your help!

Brian.

[Claymore]

If no one has any answers then perhaps someone can point me to the contact details of someone at NTL who may actually be able to help me find out what I need to know?

[captain747480]

I'm not an expert so don't take this as gospel but the situation as I understand it is this:-

If you own the leasehold to your property, as part of that leasehold you will have the right to use the communal areas of the property but you do not own the communal areas.

If this is the case then the Freeholder of the building needs to give permission for NTL to install their cabling in the communal area. This permission is known as a Wayleave.

If, however, you have a stake in the freehold then you may be able to persuade your fellow leaseholders in the other flats (who presumably also have a stake in the freehold) to give permission for NTL to install the cable in the communal areas.

I suggest you establish who owns the freehold and then go from there.

[Claymore]

Ok, thanks!

Time to phone the factors for the building and see if they know anything about it!

[Red Robin]

Hi
I work for ntl:telewest (I'm a network planner) and I'll try to help you, but I might not be able to get instant answers for you.... I'm out of the office quite a bit and if it's not in my region I'll be dependent on answers from my counterparts, and that may take a little time.

Firstly I need to know where in the country you are, and if you can PM me your address that would help enormously. One of the mods will confirm I am an employee I am sure.

In brief, what has been said before is true re the free/leasehold situation. But from the point of view of accessing your block there are unfortunately many factors. A generic reply that you got from someone of the "wayleave" being refused is a general response; in all probability it's more complex.

Basically, any block of flats which is over 6 units is classed as what we call an MDU (Multiple Dwelling Unit) and customers should not be installed on an ad-hoc basis - instead the whole block must be pre-wired. This can be done in one of two ways; 1. dry-wiring every flat while the building is going up (the easiest and neatest, but we have to have a good relationship with the developer, he has to help us, and we have to enter into financial agreement with him which doesn't often happen). 2. We can "block wire" built flats retrospectively, but that is even more complex, involving looming cables externally on the building and consent has to be gained from so many people, it ends up not being cost effective. In either case, it's costly, and the costs have to be met somewhere or other, and at the moment our budgets are just about nil.

I will double check your address though, to make sure what the situation is, but I'll need that information from you to go forward.

Hope that helps a little.

[MovedGoalPosts]

RedRobin is a ntl:telewest staffer :)

[Claymore]

Hi Robin,

Thanks for offering your help!

I think the building was built sometime in the 50s, so I doubt installing the cables then was an option ;)

I've PM'd you my address details - any help you can give would be greatly appreciated (even if it ends up that I can't get NTL, I just would like to know either way).

Thanks,

Brian.

[Red Robin]

Thanks Brian - have replied to your PM.

Lets see what we can find out...... :)

[Red Robin]

Hi
No good news I am afraid.

As suspected, we applied for permission to internally wire this block when we were building the network in the area, but permission was refused for this one.

The concensus from the Glasgow local office is that there are some projects now underway to identify and release homes with a low cost implication. This one is on the list, but we have gone through project like this before and it doesn't guarantee it would get done. Even if it is one of the ones chosen, it may be many months before it came to fruition.

Sorry it's not more positive, but at least you know one way or another.

Red Robin

[Claymore]

Ah, bummer.

Oh well, thanks for your help - guess I'm stuck with crummy 1.5Mb/s ADSL then :(

[Red Robin]

Brian

A glimmer of hope for you....

Following bringing this to light with the local planning office, they are now putting together a Business Case to see if we can wire your block. This is only a stab in the dark, and to be honest, probably you won't be able/willing to wait until it's sorted out without a service provider, but I thought you would like to know.

It's dependent on many factors; getting financial approval, and most importantly getting the wayleave, but at least it's being looked at. I can't give you timescales I'm afraid because it's not in my region and I'm just passing on information.

If you want to PM me your email add, I'll pass it to the planner concerned and ask him to stay in touch with you.

HTH a little (and look at what posting on an unoffical forum can do!!!:D )

[Claymore]

Hi, sorry to bring up an old post, but I don't suppose you have an idea if Virgin Media are continuing this Business Case?