Advice needed for guttering/drainage of rain water please

Our row of cottages has guttering running the full length at the front and one gutter down pipe which comes down between our house and next door. This used to have a gutter pipe bend at the bottom and the pipe continued horizontally along our neighbours drive and onto the path by the side of the road. It had a slight angle to let the water down it.

This horizontal pipe was inevitably broken by being stood on and so the previous tenant cut it right back. This means all the rain water goes into our front garden a few inches from our house. Even since this has happened our cellar floods. A big puddle appears. We live on a big hill and the previous owner, who lived in the house 15 years, said it has never had any water, so it must be the sheer volume of rain water coming from the gutter pipe.

I am trying to work out what to do next. There is no drain we can direct the water into, the only thing I can think is to extend the pipe back again so that it drains onto the path and then down into the roads drain. Who can I speak to for help? The Council? The water company? Any help much appreciated.

I think, up until a few years ago it wasn't legal but it was ignored by Local Authorities to drain across the pavement. Now you need to obtain explicit planning permission, I believe.

The alternative is to construct a soakaway in your front garden but the '5 meter from a building' rule might require some compromise.

You need to talk to your LA in the first instance, Planning to see if you can replace the discharge across the pavement, if not then Building Control to see how you can provide a soakaway, if not the the local water board to see if you can discharge to foul drains.

Finally, your neighbour(s) has/have absolutely no right to discharge surface water to your property so a joint solution would be a sensible way forward.