Introduction
Openreach manages the access network in the UK. This covers all the items which take a service from the local exchange to a property including the: poles, cabinets, drop-wires, brackets or bold fixings, lead-in cables, cleats and the master socket itself.
Contractors working on the exterior walls of buildings in the UK can come into contact with our plant ( e.g. lines, eyebolts etc) on a regular basis. This work often requires the use of ladders and/or scaffolding and we understand that our plant may be in the way when work is being carried out and may need moving or rearrangement.
External work on buildings can take many forms including the following:
Before starting work on the exterior wall of a property in the UK you should contact us so that we can:
Benefits of contacting us
Avoid potential safety hazards - By assessing the plant and completing any work we need to do before your people start work we can avoid some risks for your team.
For example, drop-wires between the telegraph pole and the property must be a minimum height above the ground to ensure that lorries can pass under them safely. If a drop-wire is moved incorrectly, say by placing it between scaffolding poles to keep it of the way, it could drop below the minimum height and catch on a lorry. The wire would be pulled down along with anything it may be attached to, including scaffolding, and could lead to the property owner's service being cut off, damage to the property and potentially serious injury or worse for anyone on the scaffolding at the time.
If drop-wires are cut they can become slip, trip and fall hazards and if the end of a loose wire hangs at head height a person could walk into it and damage their eyes.
Reassurance for your customers - You'll be able to show your customers that you've done your homework and are compliant with Openreach's network requirements.
What do I need to do?
External Wall Insulation and similar large scale works for or on behalf of housing stock owners
Visit our External Wall Insulation page.
For any other type of work on individual dwellings including: pebble dashing, double glazing, pointing, fascia boards/soffits, guttering, down pipes, roofing, building extensions and satellite dishes please contact the External Network Relocation (ENR) team on 0800 023 2023 (option 3) or via the Removing/moving equipment section of the Contact Us page on the Openreach website.
Once we have the property details we'll do a survey to identify the plant installed on each property. We'll usually start your survey within 2-3 weeks of your contacting us. Once the survey's been completed we'll provide a report detailing and quoting for any work we need to do. Once you've approved the quote we'll start on the work as soon as possible.
Our teams will then work with you to agree timescales and work ahead to meet your objectives. So whether you have a long list of properties or just a few here and there contact us as soon as you know you'll be doing the work.
Please note that you cannot cover our apparatus with external insulation materials or other coverings without contacting us to make the necessary changes.
What happens if I alter your network in any way or don't contact you?
If you don't contact us and an incident occurs because you or your contractors have altered, interfered or tampered with our network you will be held responsible and could face serious consequences. These could include compensation claims, investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and possible criminal charges.
If there is any Openreach plant on a property you'll be working on we're the only people who can move it for you. If you don't contact us and make any alterations, remove or replace fixings, remove drop-wires or lead-ins (temporarily or permanently) or do anything which adversely affects our network this would be classed as trespass and we would take appropriate action against any third party who trespasses on our network.
If you're working on External Wall Insulation, or other similar large scale schemes, for housing stock owners such as local councils and housing associations you'll find all the information you need on our EWI page.
If you're working on other types of exterior works on individual dwellings including pebble dashing, double glazing, pointing, fascia boards/soffits, guttering, down pipes, roofing, building extensions and satellite dishes contact the External Network Relocation (ENR) team on 0800 917 7381 (option 6) or click on the link below:
