Drainage relocation

[Jimbo]

Hi,

I'm in the process of buying a house, and have spoken to the next door neighbour about buying a piece of land to use as a drive. He's willing to sell, but there are two problems:

The first is that there is a telegraph pole on the public highway that would restrict access to the land. The second problem is that there is a drainage/sewerage manhole cover in the middle of where the drive would go. The land is raised above the level of the highway by about 4ft.

I've spoken to a friend who works for the regional electricity board, who tells me that the telegraph pole will be moved FOC as it restricts an access (even though it'll be a new, rather than existing, access).

My first question is - will the same be true of the drainage? Will the water board make the necessary adjustments FOC (or for a nominal sum) to allow me to use the land as a (inclining) drive? Or does this fall under the "it's on your land, you have to pay full whack" remit as per mains water supply?

My second question, should the answer to the first be "it's your problem" is - does anyone know close to the manhole cover I can dig down? I'm thinking I may still be able to squeeze cars past once the pole is removed...

Thanks for any info

Jim

 

[Fluffster]

Install a manhole cover/chamber that vehicles can drive over.
I would think you would have to absorb all costs.
Pete

 

[Jimbo]

It's not as simple as just installing a cover - the land is raised about 4 or 5 foot above the road, so it would be a inclined drive. This gives a couple of problems:

1. The inclination is steeper than the drainage pipes coming from the house, so I think much of the drainage would need to be re-routed (a guess);
2. As the current manhole cover is 5' above the road, the 'down pipe' would need to be taken down to the level of the drive as it slopes up from the road, before a cover could be put on. I'm not sure whether this needs to be done by the water company or whether a private contractor could do it.

I think you're right - I'd be liable for costs. Just wondered if anyone out there had done anything similar and could advise!?

Cheers

Jim

 

[IJWS15]

Have you tried lifting the lid to see how deep the drain is?

Or is it one of the water authorities main drains?

 

[Jimbo]

I haven't lifted the lid due to the vast quantity of horse shi... er, manure covering it!

I phone the water board; as it's on my neighbour's land it's nothing to do with them. So it's up to me to find a private contractor to do the work. One guy gave me a telephone quote of around £2k+vat, but obviously that's based on speculation rather than a survey of the drain.

 

[neilsumner]

It sounds like a private drain from what you have said. The costs will have to be bourne by you but it may be under shared ownership for maintenance.
Most modern chambers are built with cheap precast concrete rings followed by a precast top slab then a few courses of brickwork to the level of the cover and frame.
You will have to lift off the cover to have a look and if you are lucky there are enough courses of brickwork to adjust the levels to suite the new driveway.

-Neil