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Original poster

Uh oh, sewer access and our proposed extension

19 replies

Woodifer · 18/03/2015 18:56

Feeling stupid for sure. Didn't envisage any planning issues as we are basically mirroring next door (semi). But we apparently have to have an access point to the sewer and it can't be in the foot print of the house. The lay of the pipe and the plot means this massively affects our available extension space.....

....unless there's any way round this. Does every propert need an access point? There are really close ones on adjacent properties.

also would you expect am architect to pick this up as an issue?

OP posts:

Kieron79 · 18/03/2015 19:14

We were allowed to build over ours as we put a new inspection chamber to the side of the extension, we had our water supplier cone out and building control. It depends upon where your house is on the sewerage 'run' I would ask your supplier to come out and check

TheSingingMonkey · 18/03/2015 19:15

You can build over pipes, we did. The builders just built concrete support over the pipe. However you have to inform the water company and get permission. We also had to have the pipe CCTV'd and it all costs!

As long as there are manholes in the neighbours gardens you might be ok. Yes your architect should have picked up any drains. Your builder should know what needs doing though, ours had come across this hundreds of times.

Agrestic · 18/03/2015 19:16

I'm about to extend, planning permission granted. Sewer access is in the kitchen, I'll have a man hole in middle of the kitchen floor... Not ideal but I can’t really justify moving it as it will cost thousands.

Who raised the issue?

redrubyindigo · 18/03/2015 19:22

We bought a house and it turned out our house was the sewage/manhole point for the whole row. It was a nightmare.

As it was in our garden we had to deal with the call outs and pay for DynoRod every time a neighbour blocked it with tampons and cotton buds.

We could never get her to pay despite showing her the plans and the Dynorod guy saying it was a joint outlet and we never flushed anything larger than a poo toilet paper.

Check carefully as you do not want to be digging up a floor.

shabbycaddy · 18/03/2015 20:49

Not heard of that issue before, but it would make sense with access, we will have to pay for a build over agreement to Southern water due to a public sewer running in the back garden for our extension even though we are replacing a current extension which is built over it. Cost is around £900, building control will pick up on it and won't sign stages off if it's not in place before you start

redrubyindigo · 18/03/2015 21:11

We also had a neighbour who blocked access when it should have been a walkway for all. When his loo blocked up he demanded access to our garden as the manhole was there.

Ermm. You blocked access to the manhole so the Dynorod guy could only get through from our front door and you want me to wait in for him at your convenience?

Like I said. Please check it out. The implications are numerous and drawn out.

Original poster

Woodifer · 18/03/2015 21:57

Agrestic who is your sewer owner?

OP posts:

Agrestic · 19/03/2015 03:28

Anglian water.

TheSingingMonkey · 19/03/2015 08:30

Have you spoken to the water company?

NiceAcorns · 19/03/2015 08:33

Contact Anglian water to arrange a Building Over Agreement. They will come out, survey & either OK it or tell you what you need to do.

If you sell the house, you will need to produce the Agreement for the new owners, so don't lose it.

TheSingingMonkey · 19/03/2015 08:38

The water company didn't come out to us, we had to arrange and pay for a survey. You have to provide all the information and pay for it, it's a total money making objective for them. This was Severn Trent mind. You have to provide all the information to say what you're going to do, we then got a letter saying we could build over the pipe and move the drain. It's because the water company owns the drain, despite it being in our garden. They didn't even know where the drain was when we contacted them, the whole thing was quite frustrating.

Original poster

Woodifer · 19/03/2015 21:24

This is Yorkshire water.

OP posts:

Madcats · 19/03/2015 21:37

Terraced house (of about 20 here). Down in Somerset I think we paid £500 to Wessex Water 8 years ago to let us "build over" in our replacement extension (which was great because we'd previously had an access point in our hallway).

Admittedly the water company had no record of where the drain/sewer was when we applied.

ValenciaOrange · 20/03/2015 09:20

We have recently had a build over agreement for an extension in Yorkshire. Yorkshire Water charged £342.00

PinkApplesAreGreat · 23/10/2019 11:28

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Sundayswirl76 · 05/08/2025 12:26

Appreciate this is an old thread but can anyone on here tell me whether building control tell you if a build over agreement is needed or is it the property owners responsibility to sort one with the water company?

Our architect says it's down to building control (who have not told us we need one). Our builder says it's down to us.

Madcats · 05/08/2025 17:51

Re build-overs, our architect phoned the local Water Company, filled in the forms etc for us (nearly 18 years ago- badly typed my original comment).

Just phone the water company and ask. Having looked at my water co (Wessex), the form and guidance notes are all available online these days.

Sundayswirl76 · 05/08/2025 22:03

Madcats · 05/08/2025 17:51

Re build-overs, our architect phoned the local Water Company, filled in the forms etc for us (nearly 18 years ago- badly typed my original comment).

Just phone the water company and ask. Having looked at my water co (Wessex), the form and guidance notes are all available online these days.

Thanks very much! Will follow this up with our water company in that case.

Gunz · 05/08/2025 22:21

Build over agreements didn't get enforced until 2011. I was having to check this when selling the house as my conservatory is built over the main drain in 2002. There is a separate access point to the drain which was built - so you can access the main drain. Practically speaking - the main drain has never blocked in the 36 years I lived there. It will be a foresenic conveyancer that will ask the question!

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