Wiring 'safe Zones' near a consumer unit. Pedantic concern after inspection.

People bring with them their habits, sometimes on the strength of being told once that something is not allowed. Unthinking, they take this as fact and continue to apply the narrative fallacy. It becomes an act of faith, and is applied indiscriminately. It gets passed on to others, until robustly challenged; but even then, there will be a digging in of heels-you are questioning someones faith in "what they have always done". The infection rate of nonsense is plus one in Sparky land, so the uninfected are always behind the curve in the minority, having to fight a rearguard action to survive.


The exact thing happened to me 20 years ago during a NICEY annual inspection. Simply the Inspector was not quite sure, so, as they will always do- you are obviously inferior so are guilty until proven innocent?  -they shoot from the hip "that contravenes wiring regs", expecting you to back down and rip it all out, after all , they call the shots in the closed shop of sparky registration. Call their bluff and the bluster evaporates. But they will likely try it on again with a tame contractor.


I would suggest that, presently, the vast majority of trading electricians in a firm or as an individual entity, have been exposed to what is, to all intent and purposes, mandatory registration of a "scheme" . The consistency of scheme Inspector application of BS7671 is wayward, to be polite. Of course most registrees will accept without question what the scheme Inspector tells them and the nonsense continues.  You pay your money for the indulgence after all.

People bring with them their habits, sometimes on the strength of being told once that something is not allowed. Unthinking, they take this as fact and continue to apply the narrative fallacy. It becomes an act of faith, and is applied indiscriminately. It gets passed on to others, until robustly challenged; but even then, there will be a digging in of heels-you are questioning someones faith in "what they have always done". The infection rate of nonsense is plus one in Sparky land, so the uninfected are always behind the curve in the minority, having to fight a rearguard action to survive.


The exact thing happened to me 20 years ago during a NICEY annual inspection. Simply the Inspector was not quite sure, so, as they will always do- you are obviously inferior so are guilty until proven innocent?  -they shoot from the hip "that contravenes wiring regs", expecting you to back down and rip it all out, after all , they call the shots in the closed shop of sparky registration. Call their bluff and the bluster evaporates. But they will likely try it on again with a tame contractor.


I would suggest that, presently, the vast majority of trading electricians in a firm or as an individual entity, have been exposed to what is, to all intent and purposes, mandatory registration of a "scheme" . The consistency of scheme Inspector application of BS7671 is wayward, to be polite. Of course most registrees will accept without question what the scheme Inspector tells them and the nonsense continues.  You pay your money for the indulgence after all.