While digging the garden I came across a 8mm armoured cable, about 8
inches under an old lawn with yellow plastic warning buried about an
inch over the top of it. It appears to be running towards a street
lamp.

I didn't damage it or disturb it much, and it isn't in my way.

Is a 8mm dia armoured cable - diameter across the steel armour - about
right for a small street lamp? It seems to be running from the school
next door. Should the council be paying me a rent on this bit of space?

I thought that buried cable should be at least 18 inches down.

R.

TheOldFellow wrote:
While digging the garden I came across a 8mm armoured cable, about 8
inches under an old lawn with yellow plastic warning buried about an
inch over the top of it. It appears to be running towards a street
lamp.

I didn't damage it or disturb it much, and it isn't in my way.

Is a 8mm dia armoured cable - diameter across the steel armour - about
right for a small street lamp? It seems to be running from the school
next door. Should the council be paying me a rent on this bit of space?


I used about that to connect my klargester up..Its fused at 6A I think.

Depth? Well I had a soil pipe running there already down about 18" so
it runs in the same trench, but I never heard the BCO ask about it.

I suspect the 18" is for incoming mains which packs a big punch - up to
100A or so in my case.

Cut through what is essentially a 'fused spur' and it will simply blow a
fuse or trip an MCB somewhere,

I thought that buried cable should be at least 18 inches down.


Not sure that applies to post consumer unit stuff.

As far as wayleave goes, it may well be that your house is built on land
that used to belong to whoever laid it.

And no one thought to mention it when selling..so its legally grey!

I am not sure how far down ones ownership, or freehold of land, goes.

Certainly you don't have rights over the airspace above, nor mineral
rights below.

R.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:32:47 +0100, TheOldFellow wrote:
I thought that buried cable should be at least 18 inches down.

Take this with a pinch of salt, but 8 sounds pretty low to me.

For some perspective, it's 12" here (north US) for cable running within a
duct, and 24" for plain ol' cable (I'm not aware of a specific rule about
running armoured stuff underground)

cheers

J.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:32:47 +0100, TheOldFellow
wrote:

While digging the garden I came across a 8mm armoured cable, about 8
inches under an old lawn with yellow plastic warning buried about an
inch over the top of it. It appears to be running towards a street
lamp.

I didn't damage it or disturb it much, and it isn't in my way.

Is a 8mm dia armoured cable - diameter across the steel armour - about
right for a small street lamp? It seems to be running from the school
next door. Should the council be paying me a rent on this bit of space?

I thought that buried cable should be at least 18 inches down.


8mm is about right - an offcut I salvaged when they replaced a nearby
street lamp a few weeks ago is that size. The cables and the poured
joint were barely a foot deep in the grass verge.


--

Should the council be paying me a rent on this bit of space?

Don't go there. You might make a pound or two per year, but by the times
it's been put through your tax reurn it'll cost you money.

Al.

"Al" wrote in message
. 4...
Should the council be paying me a rent on this bit of space?

Don't go there. You might make a pound or two per year, but by the times
it's been put through your tax reurn it'll cost you money.

Tax return?

Tax return?

Yes. Once you start collecting rent, you'll have to complete one.

Al.

On Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:32:47 +0100, TheOldFellow wrote:

While digging the garden I came across a 8mm armoured cable, about 8
inches under an old lawn with yellow plastic warning buried about an
inch over the top of it. It appears to be running towards a street
lamp.

I didn't damage it or disturb it much, and it isn't in my way.

Is a 8mm dia armoured cable - diameter across the steel armour - about
right for a small street lamp? It seems to be running from the school
next door. Should the council be paying me a rent on this bit of space?

I thought that buried cable should be at least 18 inches down.

R.

8" is rather shallow, it should at least be deep enough that you are
unlikely to hit it while digging the garden over!

SteveW