Landowners

The land agent team on Cadent’s HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline project is being led by a company called Fisher German LLP. Fisher German is a specialist company that’s enjoyed a long working relationship with Cadent and has provided land agency services in connection with our pipeline network since its inception.

We’re aware that Fisher German has previously undertaken work across the north west that is unrelated to Cadent’s HyNet North West Hydrogen Pipeline. If you have received any communication from Fisher German, please check that it is in relation to this project.

As part of the DCO application process there’s a legal requirement to identify who owns or has an interest in land. To make sure the information gathered is as accurate as possible, the Fisher German team has been engaging with potentially impacted landowners.

As part of our second, statutory consultation we wrote to everyone identified as having an interest in land affected by the project, inviting them to comment on our more detailed proposals. We will continue to talk to landowners as we prepare to submit our application for development consent and, if successful, carry out the installation of the pipeline.

This project will require land rights over private land, both long term and short term. We will offer payments to landowners who host our pipeline or provide access during its installation. These payments will be made under a temporary access agreement (where we only need to access land and will not be carrying out installation works) or an easement agreement, where we seek more formal rights to allow for the installation and operation of the pipeline.

Easement agreements

We will seek to agree the necessary rights from landowners to maintain, operate and inspect the pipeline. These rights are contained in an ‘easement’ agreement. The agreement places duties on both parties that enable us to work together to ensure the safe operation of the pipeline. One aspect of the easement is to control and restrict what can take place within the strip of land that lies over the pipeline. This is to prevent damage to the pipeline once it has been laid.

This strip of land will vary in width, up to 24.4m wide (depending on the size of the pipeline). We will seek an option agreement for the easement with landowners before we submit our application for development consent. We would then exercise the option should development consent be granted.

Where land rights cannot be agreed voluntarily the DCO will contain compulsory purchase powers. However, these would only be used where we are unable to reach voluntary agreement.