Implications of sewer in garden

Perelandra

I wonder if I could get a bit of advice,

I've been looking at a property to buy, and it ticks all the boxes, but also has quite a bit of free land on which I could extend the property in the future. However, having looked at the drains layout, I see that there's a public foul sewer running under the garden, directly under where I would build the garage/extension.

When deciding whether or not to proceed with the house, should I assume that the property is unlikely to receive pp for the extension, or is it relatively easy to nail this uncertainty before I go any further down the road?

princeofpounds

I can't talk about PP, but it's highly likely that the water company will have a right to access it at any point and dig it up. They would have to cover it over of course but if you erect a building over it and they do have a right to access it, then you have to take that part of the building down again.

Note that they don't necessarily have the right, but it's common.

LisaLou1982

As long as you moved the access to the sewer then that shouldnt be a problem

pingu2209

I would speak to a Builder to ascertain the additional costs for this work. Drains can be very expensive to deal with. The foundations for extensions (even single story) have to be really deep now, building regs are getting tougher and tougher. It may be that the foundations need to be deeper than the sewer so the sewer needs to be moved - this is more expensive than just moving the access. Also, you need to find a place that you can move the sewer to!

ab7167

try googling "build over consent"

each water authority will have their own rules, but if you want to build over a public foul sewer, I would imagine you may have problems. If they need to dig up the sewer, you would need to demolish anything you built over it.

Moving the sewer may be possible, but you would need to consent of the water board, and they may not grant this. they are typically very vague on the phone, and generally will not comment until they get actual plans. I have spent many a frustrating hour on the phone to Thames Water on this subject.

One thing you might like to check is that the sewer is actually in existance where it is shown on the plan, they can vary and this may save your plans if it is further away from the house than shown on the deeds.

the depth of the foundation will depend on many things, I put some in a few months ago that were only 450mm deep, and have had to go as deep as 2250mm deep in other areas. You can run pipes through foundations if you do it properly.

planning permission is not an issue, they would not concern themselves with things that are underground, you would need building regulations approval for the foundation, but that would only cover the depth and width, and possibly any detail where a pipe passed through the foundation. the build over consent from the statutory water authority is the main document that you would need, and they would likely not comment or give permission without seeing plans.

hope this helps, the Thames water guide does give some guidance on what they will accept.

G_M

Speak to your solicitor/see the title deeds to see what restrictions there are.

Perelandra

Thank you all for your responses to my post.

This is pretty much as a I thought- it certainly reduces the attractiveness of the property to me, which is a real shame as otherwise the property was perfect!