Survey and Search Wrong - What can I do?

WillowCat

Is the clay area higher than your garden? If so, is the problem that the surface water from road/hardstanding etc from the new development running down into your garden rather than being directed away via a new drain?

I admit I'm still struggling to get my head around the levels involved - other than you say the bottom of your garden is lower than near the house.

A soakaway is normally used to direct water falling onto hard surfaces (roofs, driveways, patios etc) into a pit sunk into the ground which is loosely filled with hard materials leaving plenty of voids for the water to sit in. It then slowly soaks into the subsoil. It needs to be big enough to store heavy rainfall so is sized based on the surface area it's collected from and the permiability of the surrounding subsoil (you normally do a perculation test to find out this).

I'm not familiar with the sort of land drain you might need to drain a boggy garden, but it must be possible - most of the fens have been treated in this way!

Doozergirl

WillowCat wrote: »

A soakaway is normally used to direct water falling onto hard surfaces (roofs, driveways, patios etc) into a pit sunk into the ground which is loosely filled with hard materials leaving plenty of voids for the water to sit in. It then slowly soaks into the subsoil. It needs to be big enough to store heavy rainfall so is sized based on the surface area it's collected from and the permiability of the surrounding subsoil (you normally do a perculation test to find out this).

Far more eloquent than me, thankyou!

If you have reached a dead end with trying to get other people to do something then it might be time to club together to get work carried out to help.

I wonder if it's worth contacting your buildings insurance - if the ground is changing then it might be worth their while taking preventative measures as it is possible that the house could be affected. Worth using them as a starting point at least.

Otherwise hiring a surveyor for direction on what work needs to be carried out.

blueboy2001

If the Council has granted planning permission for a development and failed to take into account the potential effects of flooding on neighbouring land, then you can complain to the Local Government Ombudsman who will look into it. However, the LGO will only look into administrative or procedural errors, if for example the developer submitted a Flood Risk Assessment which stated there would be no effect on your property, then the LGO won't take any action.

silvercar

A soak away would be a big help, we installed one in our last house after finding that the guttering/ rainwater drains just led to the subsoil rather than a drain.

Hard work but not expensive. Just dig a big hole and fill it with gravel; its not rocket science. Obviously you want to site it at the lowest point in your garden. You can also get garden drainage laid leading to it, if you want to improve still further, though this is more costly.

poppysarah

Problem will be you've got to get through the clay so the water can seep away. In a clay area this might mean a deep hole.
If you just dig a pit in the clay then fill it with gravel it'll just collect water.
And if your garden is lower than everyone elses it'll still be soggy if not worse.

You need proper help from someone who specialises in drainage. Get some quotes in from a couple of companies - just the process of getting someone out might give you more information that will help.