Restrictions on back extensions

[Sarahk8888]

Has anyone had experience of dealing with Thames Water in the following circumstances. I am looking at buying a house, but I want to do a kitchen extension, and 'fill in the gap' between the original kitchen and the side wall as the kitchen is tiny. Its at the end of a terrace and the survey says that there is a main drain running along the back and down the side of the property. Would Thames Water negotiate with me before I bought the property? Has anyone had experience of them being helpful or flexible?

We're aorta to start a side/back extension that will be built over shared drains for us and our neighbours.

Our architect recommended we have a cctv survey of our drains, so we knew how far down the drain is, and the footage also shows the condition of the pipe before any building work takes place.

You need a "build over" agreement. Go onto the Thames Water web site to fill out the information they require. We had them call with a few additional questions, and then were given the go ahead. I think it cost approx £300.00 in total.

Sorry, just saw you weed asking about negotiating with them before purchase. I'm not sure, it could be worth a call, we just went ahead with the application. Good luck.

Generally, you can not build over a mains drain without a lot of expense. Phone Thames Water and talk to them. And call your council: the building control dept. Not their specific area but they have a lot of surveyors working for them. Its free and they are helpful. There may be creative solutions with access points built into the new extension: have seen a house with a effectively a floor which had a massive plug like thing in the middle of the kitchen floor. (Looked nicer than it sounds!)) . And am sure the head person at the estate agents will know a couple of chartered building surveyors in your area that would pop out for free for you if it would facilitate a sale. We previously lived in a small terrace and everyone had done their side return extension except for the one house with the mains drains in the wrong/inconvenient place. T'was too expensive to sort out. Nothing is ever impossible with these things. We have moved all sorts of things in our time...but it will always involve money. Don't get rushed and do your research if the extension is a deal breaker for you. Good luck!

Oh so sorry: completely mis read. Thought you meant main drainage for whole road rather than just your house. Yes, you can just get a drain survey done and they map the drains and depth so the architect and engineer take them into account when you do the plans. Only takes about 30 mins. They measure flow and depth and circumference and lay of land. Sorry for the worrying post below from me.