Norwich: Virgin Media dispute over Costessey manhole cover

Dec 12, 2023

A three-year battle to fix a sinking manhole cover has continued as claims of ownership remain up in the air.

The dangerously dipping metal covers, outside the Costessey branch of Taverham Vets, are causing havoc for those who wish to park outside the clinic to treat their poorly pets.

Years have been spent by the vets and local councillors trying to determine whose responsibility it is to get the cover in Longwater Lane repaired.

Councillor Blundell said When the weather is bad it fills up with water as well which could be very dangerous if there's electrical cables underneath (Image: Gary Blundell)

Costessey Town councillor Gary Blundell and his wife, councillor for South Norfolk Sharon Blundell, have been trying to help the company get the issue resolved.

Gary said: "Sharon has been working on this for about three years now.

"It's directly along the path in front of where people park outside the vet.

"People are concerned that at some point a car will drive over the cover and it'll snap causing a car to fall in and get stuck."

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Costessey Town Councillor Gary Blundell says the manhole needs to be repaired as soon as possible (Image: Newsquest)

Mr and Mrs Blundell contacted Norfolk County Council who traced it to Virgin Media and said: "We can confirm that we have issued a Section 81 notice to Virgin Media to request that remedial work is undertaken."

However, a Virgin Media spokesman said: "So far we've been unable to verify whether or not this is our equipment.

"We're sending an engineer to the site today (May 23) to help us establish whether it is or not and if it is our equipment, we will of course arrange for an engineer to fix it as soon as possible."

There is concern that the manhole may snap if more cars drive over it and could potentially get stuck in the grating (Image: Gary Blundell)

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Mr Blundell added: "It looks like it's just a case of lifting the lid of it up and putting a new one on - probably a five-minute job.

"When the weather is bad it fills up with water as well which could be very dangerous if there's electrical cables underneath.

"It would solve so many issues and allow the rest of the pavement to have improvements made.

"We're starting to run out of options to get it fixed."

The manhole is located outside Taverham Vets, located in Longwater Lane (Image: Google Maps)