Difficult solicitors - advice needed

James_Tyroll

It seems the surface water is being dealt with, just the brook which is the unknown...

Marktheshark

Behind a row of houses in a small place called Swillington is a small brook that developers thought of little consequence.
It never flooded before, however they put all the surface water drains in to it and it has flooded the whole street feet deep about 3 times in the last 5 years.

The issue is summer down pours and surface run off, it just can not get down stream fast enough.
This has also created a flood down stream at Garforth which is the other end of this seemingly tame brook.

The developer, vanished.

glasgowdan

marksoton wrote: »

Trust me, it won't at all.

So why do they build SUDS?

Hoploz

You say the brook is currently in a neighbour's garden. That seems a bit odd to me in itself - that it is being transferred ... But that's another question.

Has the neighbour owned it for a long time? It would be the neighbour who is best placed to answer queries about what the ditch is used for, and whether it even ever gets water in it.

James_Tyroll

The ditch has always been on the land we're looking to buy, but it goes across multiple (about 10) plots.

So found out some more info - it seems the development's surface water drains into this ditch, however they have put in a SUDS system, which fills up a 'pond' first to ensure an even flow of water.

e13

Access to the ditch: couldn't you put a gate into your fence?

Digging out the ditch: This is hard work, but can be done with a shovel and a lot of cups of coffee. This is what my parents do. If there is heavy rain, there may be heavy items that get stuck in the ditch. If you think it's going to need a mini digger, then you will need to remember that they'll have to drive through your garden to get there - fairly understandable that the neighbour won't want their hedge removing!

Flood risk from the ditch: If you've only looked in summer then don't under any circumstances assume this is in any way representative of the flood risk. My parents house has a 6-8 foot wide and deep ditch/stream. In summer it is literally dry. In winter it can be a raging torrent, 8 foot deep that would drown anyone who fell in. It's never flooded them, but it is a concern. I would want to go and have a jolly good look at the "pond" it's supposed to fill, and where it goes from there, and where it goes beyond your ditch/stream. If the ditches are draining into something else that fills/rises a lot in winter you could well be in for a surprise come winter.

James_Tyroll

e13 wrote: »

Access to the ditch: couldn't you put a gate into your fence?

Digging out the ditch: This is hard work, but can be done with a shovel and a lot of cups of coffee. This is what my parents do. If there is heavy rain, there may be heavy items that get stuck in the ditch. If you think it's going to need a mini digger, then you will need to remember that they'll have to drive through your garden to get there - fairly understandable that the neighbour won't want their hedge removing!

Flood risk from the ditch: If you've only looked in summer then don't under any circumstances assume this is in any way representative of the flood risk. My parents house has a 6-8 foot wide and deep ditch/stream. In summer it is literally dry. In winter it can be a raging torrent, 8 foot deep that would drown anyone who fell in. It's never flooded them, but it is a concern. I would want to go and have a jolly good look at the "pond" it's supposed to fill, and where it goes from there, and where it goes beyond your ditch/stream. If the ditches are draining into something else that fills/rises a lot in winter you could well be in for a surprise come winter.

Thanks - makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure we can check it over the winter as we'd need to exchange soon but it certainly sounds like it needs some more thought before we proceed

e13

James_Tyroll wrote: »

Thanks - makes a lot of sense. I'm not sure we can check it over the winter as we'd need to exchange soon but it certainly sounds like it needs some more thought before we proceed

I suspect that as well as clearing, you'll find that it needs strimming and then the debris removing essentially every summer as well, so may well be worth the effort of putting a gate in. This, plus the maintenance of the ditch, and of ones nearby, has always been on our radar at home, and part of our expectations of a rural lifestyle - but obviously not necessarily so much in a new build, where they may be covenants restricting whether or not you can even have a shed and therefore store the equipment needed for this!

James_Tyroll

Yeah good points!

Just seen the drainage report which shows all the surface water drains into a balancing pond, then into the ditch to flow away. Lots of comments in the report about ensuring the ditch remains free flowing, etc - so to put this responsibility onto the individual homeowners isn't on I don't think for the reasons you've stated.

Hoploz

This is a new development using a ditch for drainage? I'd be very wary of this. It won't have been tested to know whether it can support it or not. How many houses are we talking?