OT - Manhole covers. Responsibility & availability

[Mr Lawes]

Hi,

Slightly off-topic, but with all the trade stores shut I've no idea where else to ask, so.......

At the end of a 2 house shared drive, we have a badly cracked manhole cover. It lies off-centre and as such, cannot be avoided when driving in and out of our properties.

Is it the responsibility of the property owner(s), or of the utility which runs services within the hole?

I've no idea what services run through the hole it covers. I don't want to lift it as it may well fall apart.

It's square, and has the following markings "MC-I-60/60" "BS-497-1976 GR-C"

The actual cover is 655mm x 655mm

I've tried several websites but can't find anything that would fit, if it's my job to replace it anyway!

Also, I did wonder about getting half a sheet of that board they use to cover broken windows, just as a temporary fix. Would this turn from being a good deed, to accepting responsibility for the problem?

TIA.

[Peter Crosland]

Your deeds should spell out who is responsible. In may cases the drive is owned by one of the properties that share it but all the users have to share the cost.

Peter Crosland

[Rick Dipper]

Some joker "cured" the one in my drive, with corregated tin & 6 inches of concrete.

Rick

[Mike]

Depends on what's in the hole. Often it's the utility company but if it's drains you can assume that unless you have it written in triplicate they will try to disown it.