Neale Tosh, of Axiom, appeared for the successful applicants, securing favourable outcomes across all disputed areas, while Mark Lindsay, KC appeared for the respondent.

The case dealt with new code agreements for six rural telecoms sites. The principal dispute lay in the level of proposed site payment, with the applicants drawing on the established Vache Farm starting point, while the respondent contended that the tribunal figures were out of step with the rates used in recent consensual settlements.

The tribunal reaffirmed the Vache Farm benchmark for code valuation, fixing consideration at £1,840 per annum (updated for RPI) for the six sites. The tribunal also fixed the landlord’s redevelopment break right at five years and rejected a proposed landlord “lift and shift” clause as neither fair nor necessary. 

The decision reinforces the stability of the rural “going rate” under paragraph 24 of the Electronic Communications Code.