Our utilities compensation team works on behalf of developers, promoters and landowners to overcome utility constraints. In the majority of cases involving electricity infrastructure, our team is able to pass the cost of diverting or undergrounding on to the utility company. Otherwise, if the overhead line and pylons remain in situ, we negotiate compensation on loss of development value, based on the difference between development value with the line, versus development value without the line. The starting point for all of our instructions is to identify the legal basis on which the utility apparatus exists, and from there we are able to assess the options. Unique Utility Solutions also deal with gas, water, telecoms and oil apparatus as well.
We find that most developers assume that utility diversion costs will be for them to pay, and so they allocate funds as part of an abnormals budget. Many of our developer clients seek a quotation to divert lines from the utility company as a matter of course, and then seek to reduce the quote by as much as possible. However, through reviewing the legal basis on which the apparatus exists and utilising statutory procedures, we are often able to pass the whole cost across to the utility company, regularly saving our clients £multi-millions.
