Neighbour demanded proof of our hosepipe ban exemption

[HoseBan]

My NDN has just demanded to see proof that we are exempt from the local hose pipe ban !!!!

I have said to them I won’t be showing them anything as it’s private but they can report me if I want and the water company can check.

We literally have just been filling a small paddling pool daily for the dc for after school and today have a little sprinkler toy as it’s boiling.

I know some people aren’t aware that there are exemptions (eg being on priority services register or certain tariff) but I’m so shocked they demanded proof !!!

Do exactly as you have, say feel free to report me, and if the water company want to check they can, you know that you are exempt 🤷‍♀️ However, even so, exemption is designed for genuine need, not taking the mick, filling a paddling pool (just because you technically “can”) doesn’t make it right, use it responsibly.

True but depends on the size of the pool. I know a blue badge holder whose non- disabled husband uses the hosepipe to fill a huge pool. Not against the rules but not in the spirit of the ruling.

Proof is issued for that very reason, is it not?

My water company put me on the priority services register because I have a child under 5. Weirdly I haven't seen this being listed on any of the 1000 Facebook posts I have seen on the topic since the ban came in.

As I'm not one for rule breaking, DDs paddling pool was filled with a watering can, and I got my steps in doing it. It took about 3 fills. Its tiny.

However after a thorough google, did you know that not one person has been prosecuted for using a hose pipe in the UK during a hose pipe ban?

So its less of a ban and more of a general 'please try not to take the piss with water as we are running low' announcement.

I see the local car wash is still going strong though!

People with bowel issues like Crohns may have to run the washing machine as an emergency which is more important than a paddling pool

Blue badges are proof - that’s all the neighbour needs to see. Doesn’t have the right to hold it or examine it, doesn’t have the right to scrutinise the details - just the badge number so they can check it’s valid.

Is the exemption intended for paddlingpools and sprinklers?

I don't think it's unreasonable to be wondering why the neighbour has a hosepipe out during a ban. I didn't know exemptions were a thing.

If her disability is affected by the heat, that’s perfectly legit.

If you have a disabled child and their disability is adversely affected by the heat, then it’s perfectly reasonable to use a hosepipe to fill a paddling pool OR a sprinkler for them to cool off. That’s what the exemption is for, but there has to be evidence that the heat makes the condition worse.

It’s actually against the rules. If there is someone in the household capable of using a watering can, then the exemption doesn’t apply - same as the assisted bin collection. It’s for the benefit of the disabled person, not the rest of the household.

Thank you. I genuinely didn’t know that but it makes sense.

I don’t disagree with what you say. I’m commenting within the parameters of what’s allowed within an exemption to a ban. If you have a problem with the water companies you need to take it up with them - as far as I know the reservoirs are not the problem. It’s the water pressure being affected by people watering their gardens with sprinklers and hosepipes and filling paddling and bigger above ground pools.

I agree with this.

Also why on Earth would you need to refill the paddling pool everyday? It isn’t so hot it will all have evaporated in 24 hours!

The exception says , "please limit the use of water (including your hosepipe) to only what's essential for your needs.". So....?

Or are you saying that able bodied people who can carry buckets of water back and forth should be the only people allowed?

Yes. Bang on. The exemptions are issued for the benefit of the disabled person. Not the rest of the household. In OP’s case a child. So OP is using the exemption to fill a paddling pool with a hosepipe which is not in the spirit of the ban, because she’s perfectly capable of using a watering can like everyone else.

So there's separate bins for the disabled person only their partner would have to use different bins. We already have seven bins. A replication of that would be ridiculous.

It might surprise you to know that some disabled people are subjected to those attitudes because they deserve it. In my twenty something career I’ve seen my share of piss takers - those who think they deserve everything offered to disabled people regardless of whether they meet the thresholds or not, and who will go to ridiculous lengths (in some memorable cases trying to bribe me as an outreach worker to support massively exaggerated claims) to get it.

We have finite resources. The time is coming when disability support will be reduced. It’s not the genuinely disabled people accessing the benefits they’re entitled to in support of their condition who have brought about this situation. It’s the ones who know they don’t qualify unless they cheat. Sorry if you don’t like it, but it’s a fact. I’ve found over and over again, that the more severely disabled someone is, the less likely they are to apply for everything they’re entitled to because they don’t appreciate that the severity of their disability merits it. Whereas the piss takers have no such qualms and will grab everything on offer, and pretzel themselves to qualify.

No, that’s not how it works. The exemption refers to the ability to move the existing bins to the kerb for collection on bin day. If someone is too disabled to move the bins, they qualify for an assisted collection - the refuse collectors will come onto the property wherever the bins are stored, empty them and put them back where they were. This only applies to households where there is no one deemed able bodied enough to move the bins. Hope that clarifies.

All of my sprinklers are on, and my grass looks wondrous.

Water shortages are none of my concern. We pay water companies to invest in the infrastructure.

I don't think running a sprinkler will prevent disabled people from drinking a glass of water.

In my 90 year old DMs house there is her and my niece The latter is capable of using a watering can but the latter will be going on holiday to the States at the end of this month for three weeks which she is perfectly entitled to do. I didnt know about the assisted bin collection so thats good to know I take it this and the water exemptions will apply to DM while my niece is away

@BlueFahrenheit do you feel clever?

A paddling pool isn't going to prevent someone with Crohn's disease from using a washing machine.

Handwashing is also a suitable option for the 'water conscious'.

Will remember this next time someone calls ME entitled because im an SH tenant and i will certainly bring it up on the next SH thread

Do you?

What's the correlation between your choosing to live in social housing and me using my garden sprinklers?