Party Wall Act and highway excavations by utilities

rob...@invalid.invalid

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Oct 29, 2007, 2:50:06 PM10/29/07

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The Party Wall Act mentions excavations below foundation level within
3m of an existing wall.

Do the provisions of the Act apply to such excavations carried out by
Utility Companies and Highway Authorities in the road adjoining the
front wall of a street fronting terraced house.

Or do these companies have rights which over-ride the PWA ?

Thanks
Robert

Stutt

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Oct 29, 2007, 4:55:03 PM10/29/07

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The PWA creates rights between building owners and their adjoining
owners. Unless the utility companies own or occupy the land next to
the boundary in question, the PWA will not have any relevance.

Lee

Owain

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Oct 29, 2007, 6:40:20 PM10/29/07

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IANAL, but I don't think the front wall of a house abutting a highway is
considered a "party wall". You would have to check the actual wording of
the Act, but in "ordinary English" it wouldn't be a party wall as it's
not shared between two structures.

It /might/ be different if the house wall is a vertical contination of a
retaining or revetment wall where the road is not at 'ground' level.

Owain

rob...@invalid.invalid

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Oct 29, 2007, 7:05:08 PM10/29/07

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The PWA besides dealing with party or shared walls, covers excavations
near any wall of a building even if not "shared".

eg excavating a trench in a garden within 3m of an existing wall
deeper than the foundation depth is covered.
Robert

Stutt

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Oct 29, 2007, 7:05:19 PM10/29/07

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The front wall of a property could in principle be a party structure
under the PWA and so the section 6 provisions on excavations could
apply. But only in relation to owners of adjacent property.

Robert, I'm not sure what you are seeking to achieve. Do you want to
stop utilities companies doing work, or protect your wall from some
expected damage? If the latter, you're stuck with your common law
rights in negligence / nuisance etc. The PWA won't help you.

rob...@invalid.invalid

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Oct 30, 2007, 11:10:08 AM10/30/07

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On Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:05:19 +0000, Stutt <lees...@googlemail.com>
wrote:

As my 1800 house fronts straight onto the street I was (till today)
concerned about excavations being undertaken to make a new gas
connection 1m away from my front wall which is unlikely to have
"proper" foundations.

If the excavations had been on "private property" I believe the PWA
would apply, but from my searches I get the impression that the
provisions of the PWA are "balanced" by the statutary rights of the
local authority (who own the highway) and utility companies to
undertake work in the highway.

So the question comes down to "in a situation where the PWA would
otherwise be applicable does the fact that the other owner is a local
authority and the land is a public highway negate the protection
offered by the PWA".
Robert

David J

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Oct 30, 2007, 1:30:08 PM10/30/07

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My daughter had 2 ft of soil removed from her front garden to obtain
off-road parking. This soil had abutted the front wall of her
terraced house.

The local authority insisted that she (and several others) had
underpinning piling added, at a cost of £1.5K, to comply with their
building regulations. Not the PWA, but another bit of building
legislation.

This was under threat of a 'charge' being added to the house deeds.

Your situation is not too dissimilar, AIUI.