INTERVIEW Georgina Rudak - Trenches Law
“Obtaining wayleave consent to install, maintain, operate and repair the UK’s telecoms
infrastructure, is rarely easy. “ Georgina Rudak, head of wayleave - Trenches Law
How to obtain wayleave
consent during COVID-19
The telecoms sector was granted ‘essential’ key worker status when lockdown was first announced, which
actually led to some employees receiving abuse from members of the public. But this status meant that
network builds could continue to progress. Here, Georgina Rudak, head of wayleave at Trenches Law, explores
the role that wayleaves will play, through it all…
It has been a complex time
for all businesses – however
COVID-19 has presented
particular challenges and
opportunities for the world of
telecoms.
Obtaining wayleave
consent to install, maintain,
operate and repair the UK’s
telecoms infrastructure, is
rarely easy. at’s one of the
many reasons the Government
planned to introduce the
new Telecommunications
Infrastructure (Leasehold
Property) Bill this year, to
streamline the processes
involved.
Amendments to the
Electronic Communications
Code have been proposed so
that courts can impose an
agreement if Multi-Dwelling
Unit (‘MDU’) owners fail to
respond to wayleave requests.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there
has been a great deal of support
for this, to date. However, the
bill is currently at the House of
Lords’ committee stage, so for
now, we must wait and see how
this pans out.
Meanwhile, however, work
to progress the nation’s network
builds continues at pace, not
least because the Government
granted telco sta ‘key worker’
status when the COVID-19
lockdown was rst announced.
At the start of April, the
Department for Digital,
Culture, Media and Sport
also published guidance
relating to the deployment
of telecoms infrastructure in
England, during the outbreak.
e document’s introduction
reiterated the critical nature of
the sector and conrmed that:
“Now, more than ever, the
country is reliant on xed line
and mobile communications
networks.”
e same guidance
encourages landlords to permit
access to sites when inspections,
maintenance, adjustments,
repairs and upgrades are
required in respect of the
telecoms infrastructure, and
the advice even asks that steps
are taken to facilitate entry to
unoccupied properties.
But so far, there is little sign
of any greater co-operation.
In some respects, a degree
of hesitance is perhaps
understandable, at a time when
the nation is seeking to stop
COVID-19 spreading. Yet
this is hindering the industry’s
ability to carry out essential
work, as the Government has
requested.
A similar trend seems
apparent when it comes to
conrming new wayleave
agreements. Even when
managing agents and their
freeholders are happy with the
terms discussed, they seem wary
of providing signatures which
give access to properties amidst
the current crisis.
However, our advice here –
and therefore the approach we
have been taking on behalf of
our own clients – is to maintain
dialogue and strive to complete
the wayleave negotiations as
soon as possible.
Complex network builds
must continue – nobody is
disputing that – so even though
there are multiple barriers
to works being conducted at
this present time, wayleaves
will still be necessary in the
near future. Now is therefore
a crucial time to obtain the
necessary signatures, in advance
of lockdown being lifted, as
waiting until a release date to
‘dot the Is and cross the Ts’,
risks stalling everything.
We’re seeing a driving force
for progress at the other end
of the chain too. With an
unprecedented increase in the
number of people working from
home and using video calls to
keep in touch with friends and
family during this isolating time,
the hunger for connectivity
is unprecedented. In many
instances, this is not just a desire
but a necessity, especially when it
comes to NHS back oce sta,
for example, who need reliable
bandwidth to carry out their
crucial roles when working from
home.
Residents are therefore
demanding better broadband
and starting to push their
landlords with almost the same
sense of urgency as the network
providers – another reason
why wayleave discussions must
maintain pace.
Yes, when the time comes,
the work needs to be carried
out as safely as possible, with
maximum respect for the social
distancing guidelines provided
by the experts. And there are
new negotiation hurdles to
overcome as a result of the
COVID-19 outbreak.
But now is not the time
to stop talking. In fact, the
wayleave discussions are
arguably more important than
ever.
38 | Comms Business Magazine | July 2020 www.commsbusiness.co.uk
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