Drainage consents

Do you know what consents are required for your development drainage?

Section 106 of the Water Industry Act states that an owner of any premises or private sewerage or drainage is entitled to have his drains or sewer communicate with a public sewer. Section 106(3) states that any person who wants to use this entitlement must give notice of his proposals to the sewerage undertaker and under Section106(4) the sewerage undertaker has 21 days from receiving the notice to refuse the connection under certain circumstances.

Section 109 of the same act states that any person who connects into the sewer or drainage without giving notice under Section 106, or if they do so before the 21 days referred to above are up, they are guilty of an offence and liable on a summary conviction to a fine. There is also wording relating to this offence on the letter received back from the undertaker after giving notice.

It is important to note that consent is required whether you are connecting directly into the public sewer or whether the connection is made indirectly via existing drainage on the site or connecting via a neighbouring property.

You must therefore ensure that you give the requisite notice to the undertaker and have your Section 106 consent available in respect of foul sewage and surface water (if applicable) to provide to your plot purchasers Solicitor who will be checking whether this consent is in place to ensure your plot sales run as smoothly as possible.