One of our litigation partners, Matt Champ, has successfully resisted an application by a national utility company to obtain a warrant of entry onto his client’s land to carry out repair works, which the company claimed were an emergency that could have lasted up to 12 months.

Matt’s client had discovered that the utility company had been utilising his land without permission since mid-December and they would not agree to pay a fair rate for the pleasure. Instead, they relied on their draconian powers under the Water Industry Act 1991 to enter the site and pay a nominal sum.

After negotiations broke down, Matt’s client took the brave decision to close off the compound and deny the company access. This led to Matt being informed at 15:00 that there was an emergency hearing in the magistrates’ court being heard at 10:00 the next day to determine whether the utility company should be allowed to force access.

Demonstrating his skill at dealing with short notice matters, Matt was able to advise the client and instruct specialist counsel, namely Michael Fry of Francis Taylor Buildings. Matt then attended the hearing the next day and the magistrates dismissed the application by the company on the basis that the works were not urgent and that it was not reasonable to take over Matt’s client’s land for such a lengthy period of time when other options were available.

Matt Champ commented:

“I am extremely pleased that the magistrates decided the matter in favour of our client despite the fierce resistance offered by the company. 

“These utility companies have extremely onerous powers that come from various Acts of Parliament that can, in certain circumstances, cause substantial hardship and inconvenience. However, the balance against that is that their powers can only be exercised in certain circumstances as defined by the legal requirements. It is essential in a democratic society that these companies can be held to account so that they carry out their functions conscientiously and lawfully.

“It is important to highlight that most of these companies do carry out their functions conscientiously and advice should always be taken by any landowner before doing anything drastic that may interfere with them carrying out their functions. But, if things are not right, we are on hand to hold the companies to account.”