How to remove this access panel?

[conny]

Insert a hooked cobblers knife behind the top right where you can lever it away a bit.
Alternatively, use a hooked blade in a Stanley knife to drag it downwards and break any paint or to cut through any silicone sealant that may have been used.
If you manage to get a portion away from the wall put a batten across the opened section to prevent it springing back and sticking again. Continue around the edges moving the batten as you go. The batten will also help to apply light pressure to the edge that you are working on.

A thought to keep in mind. "It went on, it will come off."

 

[diyyid]

I got it off in the end, Andy was right, it was the paint holding it in place. Used a very thin screwdriver to lift forward the bottom left and kept cutting through area of resistance until I managed to get a larger screwdriver in.

Foxhole - my neighbour did a refurb a couple of years ago and when I popped over to see the works, the stopcock was behind that panel. We are connected through the same wall.

Unfortunately after removing the panel, there is another solid wall, behind which waste, hot and cold water pipes run from the bathroom. So apparently there's no way to turn cold water off in the bathroom, it comes in separately and the kitchen stopcock only turns off the hot water. All the pipes in the picture are for cistern refill.

Maybe one of the pros can advise on this set up. Could it be because of a communal cold water tank? Not confirmed but another user suggested this possibility in a different thread.

Also, there is still a disused water tank above the toilet, a remnant of the system before transitioning to combi I assume, I wonder if it's also linked to this

 

[Burnerman]

Your picture seems to show where the original high level toilet was, before it was converted to the more modern close couple.
That gate valve only seems to control the loo - assuming that the pipe runs down and behind the other panel, of course.
John

 

[foxhole]

Hot water can be turned off at combi .

 

[Ian H]

Andy was right...

That’s a first

 

[diyyid]

John, that makes sense, thanks