Electric meter on neighbours wall accessed through my drive

[Skaramanga]

Some help please.
We have a semi detached house , and next doors electric meter is on their outside wall , which can only be accessed by using our driveway.
We wish to extend our kitchen up to the this wall , which would then totally block off any access to the meter.
Next door are maisonettes.
Having spoken to the local council about planning permission and building regs , they see no problem as it does not encroach on next door and is within boundaries.
Also the next door neighbour doesnt mind , but he may be moving in 6 months , and i doubt he would pay to have his meter moved.
British gas stated they could pull down my kitchen to read the meter.
Has anyone been in this scenario before , and where do i stand??
Thanks in advance

 

[big-all]

interesting
bg have a legal right to read the meter thats not the problem
the problem is the smooth transition when you come to the agreement and your friend next door parts with perhaps around 2k to move the meter

 

[Skaramanga]

I understand they have that legal right , but do they have the legal right to access the meter via my property , and if my neighbour does not want to pay to move the meter can i go ahead and build my extension

 

[big-all]

as no one else has jumped in

my understanding is its you land so no one has the right to trespass unless they have a legal right which the electricity company do -----eventually

its an issue you need to resolve before you start as you are the one making the changes

now theres 2 ways off looking at this its his meter let him move it

but there also the other point that he has permitted access have you looked through the deeds or even talked to the person

my water supply goes through next doors kitchen so its there responcibillity to maintain it

any views expressed are only that as its a complexed situation

 

[Skaramanga]

Thanks for the reply again , yes i have spoken to next door , he is happy for the extension to go ahead , but he MAY? be moving in 12 months time and wasnt really bothered about the meter , he even agreed it was in a stupid place , and i doubt he would fork out any money to move it.
Have looked through deeds , and nothing in there about access or right of way
Will try and upload pic for you

 

[Skaramanga]

on my profile there is a couple of pics of the meter if it helps at all

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Photos aren't gonna help much, I don't think you're gonna get the answer you want or maybe any answer come to that on this forum You could try here http://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4&sid=c7e76b62ffe8005e05beb7941a78f0d2 there seem to be a few clued up legal eagles frequent that site.

Otherwise I'd try one of the legal forums but I've generally found they're particularly unhelpful when it comes to dishing out free legal advice on a forum.

 

[mattylad]

Your neighbour very likely has a right to have his meter there (where is yours?) or is it in a new extension for him?

You would need to consult his AND your deeds and plans registered with the land registry (£8 per property).

If the meter does need moving then you should be the one footing the bill for its moving, factor this in with your plans for an extension.

Additionally what about the window? that has an opener on, it looks top me like the boundary is actually a few inches from the edge of his house?

Are you planning an extension that blocks off his window?

The legal bods on Gardenlaw may help.

 

[Skaramanga]

thanks for the reply mattylad.
we have spoken to the neighbour , we are putting in a sloping roof so will not cut into his window space and he is happy with this , but as mentioned earlier , he may be moving in 12 months and doesnt really give a toss about the meter , so there would be no objection from him , just worried what the electric suppliers are entitled to do

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Its hardly reasonable to expect the electric company to get stuffed is it so that the meter can never be read and furthermore you actually make it practically impossible to actually move it too! It seems pretty obvious to me although I'm not sure anyone's said it. I would imagine the chances of getting the electric company to do it are slim to zero, if you're neighbour is not interested then you'll have to stump up. Look through your deeds to see if there is a right of way for someone to read the meter first off.

 

[mattylad]

What is on the other side of the meter? (inside the house).

Can it possibly be turned around into an internal cupboard rather than moved as that would be a lot harder to do.

Also I am sure that as well as reading the meter there is the safety aspect of it too where the electricity can be disconnected in an emergency?

 

[Skaramanga]

Sorry but don't know what is on other side of meter inside the house , obviously am looking to do this all above board , with no hassle , but what would be the worst case scenario if I blocked it off , but did it with all planning and building regs , wouldn't they have to access the meter somehow through the neighbours wall ? Or would I find a JCB in my kitchen one morning?

 

[TicklyT]

Another area of concern may be the routing of the supply cable to the meter. Sodd's law says it will be exactly where your proposed foundations are supposed to go....

 

[mattylad]

Have a word with the neighbour, see if you can find out what is on the other side.

With luck it may be in a box room/cupboard and it can be turned around so it can be read from inside. A bit of work but I bet its nowt like moving it.

And I am sure that you cannot just block it off, what if there was an emergency and it needed cutting off.

 

[big-all]

we also need to remember the electricity company may simply refuse to make it internal as this is contrary to making the meter more accessible
although they may now accept the new electronic remote read as being acceptable who knows really but worth checking before considering a possible non starter