Building Over Public Sewer

[hunggaur]

Hi folks just had a letter today from Severn Trent telling me I have to apply for permission to build over the sewer

the problem is i do not fully understand what i need to do

ok here we go picture below

we are looking to build a workshop at the bottom of our garden. But there is a manhole in the way so we will have to build over it.

We are also installing a large retaining wall around the where the workshop will be.

Prior to doing anything in the garden i had our current drains cctv'ed and found that there were pitch fibre and were collapsing so i replaced all our drains.

At this time i also connected into our current sewer feed with a Y connector leading off to a new 320 inspection chamber ready for us to connect into when we build our extension at the side of our house later next year.

I also got severn trent in to tell me if the neighbours feed is pitched fibre or clay and the condition (it is clay and all in good condition)

I have taken lots of photos of the work we have done ready to show the building inspector when we start the formal building work.

My question is what do i have to provide to Severn Trent they are saying that i have to have the drains cctv'ed before doing anything and after the works have been done (already done before doing work but shows all the problems with the pipe)

or they say we can replace the sewer line if we supply them with a health and safety assessment etc. Also if we need to break into the sewer we have to apply for permission and complete a form (but we have already done this by breaking into our current feed)

all new sewer lines have been replaced with 100mm underground pipe laid on 100mm of pea gravel then covered over with another 100mm pea gravel

any clarification would be great.

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[maltaron]

The manhole and pipe from that to the main sewer are the sewer authorities responsibility. If Severn Trent are anything like South West Water you will need to pay a large amount for the design of the diversion, and also use an approved contractor for the work. It is likely that they will want to divert the sewer around the building regardless of the condition of the pipe, and this will be at your expense. Your first approach will be to ask for a Build Over Agreement and see what they say.

 

[^woody^]

It seems to be a standard situation regarding the proposal, but non-standard regarding your recent work on the drains

Try and speak to someone who can understand what has recently been done and try and agree something about the application.

It seems pretty standard to be able build over the drains and to leave the manhole in place, but perhaps there will be no need for the CCTV survey. The people in ST Network Development are normally quite practical and helpful

 

[maltaron]

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this. If ST are helpful as Woody suggests then it may be all OK. SW water are the most arrogant and unhelpfull lot I have ever worked with. It took over a year and hundreds of letters and e-mails, finally involving a solicitor and SW water's CEO to get them to agree that a phone call to my architect stating that they would pay to replace the sewer actually occured and that they would honour it.