Water Authority fees for my extension?
Answer: The law regarding Private Sewers changed on 1st October 2011. Since that date, private sewers and private lateral drains outside the boundary of a property became adopted and within the ownership of the six Water Companies as did any shared drains within private property. It is usual for lengths of private sewer to be connected from the property to the mains. When these lengths of private sewer connect only the property to the mains, the expense of repair of this drain or sewer will fall entirely on the owner until it leaves the boundary of the property where it will become a public sewer/drain. If there is a length of private sewer or drain used jointly with neighbouring properties, the sewer or drain will become a public sewer or drain as soon as it leaves the boundary of the first property connected to it. Under the previous system, many property owners had legal obligations (usually jointly with adjoining owners) for the upkeep of sewers and pipework beyond their property boundaries up to the connection with the main public sewer. Since the transfer of ownership on 1st October 2011, the responsibility for maintenance and repair of these drains and sewers is now on the Water Companies. The sewers/drains which were previously in private ownership have not been mapped as it was deemed to be too costly to implement. There are now many more public sewers/drains within a property boundary and the Water Authority will require a Build Over Agreement and compliance with building regulations if any extension is to be built within three metres of a public sewer.
ConstructAid can advise on your particular case. We have also included an article on our Blog Section (follow link) of the website with links to Thames Water and Anglian Water to their guidance notes on Build Over Agreements and a guide to their fees. Please Contact Us (follow link) if you wish to discuss these issues further.
What Council (or other) fees will I need to pay?
Answer: In most cases, a Building Regulation fee is payable. The exact Building Regulation fee varies as each Authority set their own Building Regulation fees. Further advice can be obtained from ConstructAid. On submission of the plans to the local authority, a Building Regulation initial fee is payable, called the “plan fee”. On commencement of the work, the Council will then invoice you directly for what is called the “inspection fee”, which is usually three times the amount of the original plan fee, except some minor works where the whole fee is payable on submission of the plans. In the case of Planning, if full Planning Permission is required, the Planning fee charged is currently £172 and a Lawful Development Certificate fee is £86 However, higher fees are charged for new builds and commercial developments, details are available on request.
ConstructAid can usually prepare the structural calculations and fees quoted usually include these. In rare cases, should complex structural calculations be required, e.g. specialist foundation design, we may need to instruct a Structural Engineer. In such cases, you would be responsible for their fee. We would advise if this applies to you and discuss your options.
For larger developments, the Council may occasionally ask for additional drawings, i.e. street scene view. We would have to make an additional charge for such drawings, details on request.
New builds may also require additional drawings of plans for such matters as site layout plans and SAP Rating calculations. These can be provided by ConstructAid – telephone 01708-228684 or Email us via our Contact Us page. If applicable, our fees can be quoted for these on an individual basis.
What are your fees likely to be?
Answer: Fees of ConstructAid depend upon the complexity of the job and quotations are available on request but can start from as low as £275.00. Price includes at least two visits, for the initial consultation and another to obtain your approval to the plans prior to submission to the Local Authority. Our fees will, in most cases, be quoted on our initial visit, but complex proposals may be on an individual cost basis. We will then provide a maximum likely cost of our fees if applicable to you. Our fees include minor amendments required by the Planning Department, but should major alterations be required by Planning, we would have to charge an additional fee for the work involved. ConstructAid would normally also include within our fee any amendments required by Building Control. Copies of the plan are provided for your builder to provide an estimate and on approval of the plans, a further plan for the builder/developer to work from. Additional plan copies are available, but we may make an additional copying charge. Please call ConstructAid on 01708-228684 for further advice on ConstructAid’s fees, or Email ConstructAid via the Contact Us page