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Building Regulations and Standards: drainage connections

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  1.  
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      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeSep 19th 2013
     
    Does anybody understand how drainage connections work? Not physically how the effluent flows but more how the money flows?

    I've just discovered that in order for my contractor to make a connection to the drain in the road, I need to pay Highways £300 for the privilege of installing my 'apparatus' in the road and maintaining it indefinitely. But as I understand it, the water board adopt the drain once I've had it built. So why am I having to pay a fee for ongoing maintenance rights to highways?
    • CommentAuthorPaulJ
    • CommentTimeSep 19th 2013
     
    Sewer ownership / adoption has changed in the last couple of years. See http://www.southernwater.co.uk/at-home/your-wastewater/sewer-ownership/sewer-ownership-changes/

    Highways own the road and I suppose that there may be some cost to them to process / approve / be aware of / not dig up your new connection. £300 is not a huge figure, although I appreciate that it adds to cost, not to value.
    • CommentAuthorborpin
    • CommentTimeSep 19th 2013
     
    Sure the highways charge is not a road opening permit? It covers the cost of inspection of the reinstatement etc.
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeSep 19th 2013
     
    You always pay haven't you learnt that yet?
    • CommentAuthormarsaday
    • CommentTimeSep 19th 2013
     
    I am just doing one at the moment. I dont need it adopted and it is in the front garden about 1m away from the front wall. It is only 90cm deep as well. I am simply adding a soil stack to the front of the house so i can move the bathroom from front to back.

    The cost is £131 and they need to inspect the work.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeSep 19th 2013
     
    The £300 is made up of various charges. I understand a charge for letting my contractor dig up the road. The one I object to is the 'capitalised fee in lieu of annual charge' in perpetuity, when it won't be mine for very long at all! That just seems like extortion. (If it quacks like a duck ...)

    I'm aware of the cockup that is adoption rule changes. I gather they will be fixing the problem (that they changed the rules for existing pipes but forgot that people would continue building new ones, doh!) with some new legislation soon.

    Tony has it right, I think. Grr!

    Marsaday, if you're not going into the highway, are you sure your charge is to highways rather than to the water board? For sure the water board need to inspect it as well.
    • CommentAuthorCWatters
    • CommentTimeSep 22nd 2013
     
    Presumably adding a manhole in the road adds to the cost of maintaining the road? Is that what the charge is for?
    • CommentAuthormarsaday
    • CommentTimeSep 22nd 2013
     
    My fee is to the water board not the highways.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeSep 22nd 2013
     
    Posted By: CWattersPresumably adding a manhole in the road adds to the cost of maintaining the road? Is that what the charge is for?

    There's no manhole in the road. There's no added cost of maintaining the road. The fees are all to do with making sure the job is done right and, annoyingly, in allowing me to continue to dig up the road in the future when I clearly won't need to.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeSep 22nd 2013
     
    Posted By: marsadayMy fee is to the water board not the highways.

    Yes there's a separate fee to the water board as well. I'm surprised I don't have to pay the local church and lord of the manor as well! :devil: And how the EU has managed to avoid imposing a tax is a wonder to itself.
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeSep 25th 2013
     
    Posted By: djhAnd how the EU has managed to avoid imposing a tax is a wonder to itself.
    If you pay income tax there is a tax :wink:
  12.  
    To be honest £300 fee is the least of my worries, we need to get a new connection down the road to join the existing manhole, its only about 12m on a single track dead end (but adopted road) but the quote is £7000. I've been trying to figure out a way to get it done cheaper but it seems you have to use a company who have a road closure license, they have to do these searches with other utilities like gas, water, telcecoms and then they have to pay a road closure charge! If anyone has any suggestions.... We already have a sewage connection higher up on the site so looks like it would have been cheaper to have a masher pump type device, although don't fancy cleaning it out if we got problems!
    • CommentAuthorPaulJ
    • CommentTimeSep 25th 2013
     
    Phil:

    If you can afford to connect to drainage via gravity, do it. If you do choose a pump solution, get a large bore one, not a masher type.

    You can get the utility maps yourself - some charge a fee. You can also apply for the road opening licence but will have to use an approved contractor with the correct insurances. Often smaller contractors don't want the ball-ache of doing the paperwork so if you do it for them you may get a better deal. Shop around.
    • CommentAuthorwindy lamb
    • CommentTimeSep 25th 2013
     
    I've done many a drainage job in a highway (albeit before everything became a public sewer), anyway, PaulJ is right to say that you can do all the "service searches" yourself, some on line, some by writing enclosing a map of the location. Most bigger contractors and Local Authorities have a set of CDs from the Utilities showing all the service locations but that doesn't stop the wrong stuff being dug up!!
    Chances are that all the "approved contractors" will all charge the higher rate - bit of a cartel going on - but there is always room to negotiate. It's only the length under the road that needs the approved contractor so you could do all the rest yourself.
    I used to price a job up with materials and labour and then present those costs to the "approved contractor". We would agree that he need to make a profit but he could see that I knew how big his profit could be. Almost always a sensible middle ground was found or another contractor! Good Luck.
  15.  
    Thanks for useful advice guys, I also got the feeling it was like a cartel, only approved contractors can do the work and they all charge well over the odds, good to know they may compromise!

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