In reality, councils are very unlikely to order the removal of a live cabinet, particularly a large one. What they usually enforce instead is proper reinstatement, compliance with clearances, and mitigation of any obstruction or damage. Full removal tends to be a last resort where there’s a safety issue or clear non-compliance.
Even if a cabinet turns out to be on private land without a wayleave, councils usually won’t intervene as it’s a civil matter and removal of a live cabinet is still uncommon in practice. You can take VM to court to get an order for removal, but this is slow, expensive and unpredictable as courts usually see as disproportionate the removal of telecoms infrastructure serving the public interest. I believe goslow has a point about timing: while time doesn’t automatically make an unauthorised installation lawful, the longer a live telecoms cabinet has been in place, the less likely a court is to order its removal. As time passes, proportionality, third-party reliance and public interest increasingly favour regularisation or compensation rather than removal.
Ofcom won’t handle individual complaints, so they won’t resolve this. The best route is to submit a formal complaint in writing (email or letter) and if, after eight weeks it isn’t resolved, request a deadlock letter which VM must issue. With that letter you can escalated to CISAS - which still is unlikely to order VM to remove the cabinet but can order compensation, force other remedial action and recommend that VM formalises access to the land by having both parties sign a wayleave.
So, whether it's by escalatation to CISAS/Communications Ombudsman or court action these disputes usually end with a retrospective wayleave and/or compensation (hedge damage, inconvenience) rather than complete removal, unless there’s a clear safety or access issue.
