"Sarah P" munged @ nospam.net wrote in message
...
Hi all,
Apologies for the X-post but the d.i.y guys always seem to know what's
going on with regard to 'building' regs but the real domain of the
question
is my 'garden'. Basically, I've bought a new house up in Scotland and the
garden is a bit of a nightmare. The slightest amount of rain results in
pools of standing water and the newly laid turf is apparently about to
start
rotting. Now a local landscaper has said that the problem can probably be
rectified but I don't think it should be up to me to pay for this. The
landscaper also mentioned that standing water should be the developer's
consideration. How do you think I should approach this - should the
developer be sorting out the drainage or am I stuck with footing the bill
for this myself ?

Thank for any guidance,
Keith


Keith you may have a problem here even bigger than you think and if it is
the case you need to take it up with the Planning Department of your local
Council. If you have a Parish Council take it up with them too, but in both
cases IN WRITING.

Your house may be built on a flood plain.

Your house may be built in an area where there are just too many houses, car
parks, roads, paved areas etc to take away the rain water which 'did' soak
into the ground, but now has to go into inadequate sewers.

It is this latter situation which has caused the pair of houses opposite me
to flood to above skirting board level, 4 times in the 16 years I have been
here. This always happened after torrential rain and the sewers could not
take any more. The village is downhill and once the drains were full, the
sewer backed up, water came OUT of the manhole in the road and into the
gardens, thence into the houses via the air bricks.

The Council came round after the water had gone. The Water Board came round
after the water had gone. Both said either "Nothing can be done" OR each
said "It was the other's responsibility". Both also said "We don't know why
it happens"

The last time it happened I videoed it. Called the Water people in, sat them
on the settee and pointed out the problem. Called the Council people in and
pointed out the problem. Result? The road has been re-aligned to take the
water away and DOWN INTO THE VILLAGE!!!! thereby adding to that problem, and
a promise of a new main sewer through the Village.

IF this is your problem, get yourself onto the Council and shout, and as it
is a new house, I fear that unless new drains 'have' been laid, not just
around the houses, but to increase the capacity 'down stream' so to speak,
it will be the house to flood next if they build any more houses or lay more
roads.

Our houses are about 100 years old and we have 2 neighbours who have lived
here for a very long time. One is about 90, maybe a bit younger, who was
born in the house and says that this flooding problem has 'only recently
started'. "Recently", like since a large field/orchard 'up' the road had a
development of Retired People's Homes built on it and the entire area paved,
but for a few little borders and a bit of lawn. The large houses 'up' the
road, now Seaside Boarding Houses, have turned their gardens into car parks
with tarmac and concrete. All of this water has to go somewhere, like across
the road into people's houses ;-{ ? "I think not"

If this is your case, watch EVERY planning permission and oppose it if
'virgin soil' is being built on. I do and have had planning applications
refused. In one case, the Council wanted to sell a piece of land with
planning permission to build, so applied for permission themselves. I
opposed it and it is now an open area, soon to be taken up by a Wildlife
Group.

Hope this is of help if it is the problem. If so I can give a lot more help
as to how to word the letter of opposition, who to copy it to and what sting
to add in the tail.

Mike