Mexborough and Swinton Times March 23, 1928

Colliery cables

Houghton Main Company’s Difficulty

“Innocent Trespass.”

An application for ancillary facilitate the working of mineral by the Houghton Main colliery company, was mentioned before the Railway and Canal commission in London last Thursday, when Mr T Banda, for the company, explain that a high tension cable had been erected by the Carlton Main Co. the use of their own in neighbouring collieries.

The Houghton Main company have entered into an agreement by which the Carlton Co. were going to provide them with certain electric power.

Appling an application had been made to Mr. Charles Ashwin White, the owner of land at Brierley, – the, respondent in the action. for permission to carry the cable across the land, and. the applicants contended that a verbal agreement was entered into with him whereby he gave permission for this to be done.

The correspondence would show that Mr. White had tried to obtain various terms and bring certain matters into discussion which the applicants contended had never been agreed to. Finally he told the company they were trespassers and asked for damages and terms which the company had never paid befor6 to owners of any surface land.

The company submitted that he knew the completion of the cable was a matter of the greatest importance to the company and that he was trying to make the most he could out of his position. His terms were out of all on reason compared with those accepted by neighbouring landowners. The cable which had been erected was 14 miles in length and the company now wanted powers to maintain it there. The company applied to the court as being the more economical way of settling the dispute. In case they were proved to be wrong in their submissions they asked for powers to grant the rights desired.

Sir Lewis Howard: If you are trespassing you are coming here to whitewash yourself?

Mr. Lander said there had been no trespass. If there had been it was an innocent trespass. The cost of deviating the cable, as had been suggested, would be over £1,000 He asked for an order by which the company would undertake to obtain the names of all the owners of surrounding lands, and would service notice of the application.

This was agreed, and the hearing was fixed for May 1.