Right to Drainage?
- Thread starter fiddler
- Start date
- Location
- Near Colchester
I thought that it was ancient riperian law that a downhill neighbour had to accept your surface water.
Needs more information really.
If you have sold the field for development, and the neighbour can see that you are going to increase the water flow into his ditch many times over from roadways, parking areas, roof drainage etc, and maybe cause him problems, I'm not surprised he is uncooperative.
If you have sold the field for development, and the neighbour can see that you are going to increase the water flow into his ditch many times over from roadways, parking areas, roof drainage etc, and maybe cause him problems, I'm not surprised he is uncooperative.
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
Quite right downhill neighbour cannot refuse to accept. Natural drainage water
- Location
- Darlington
Look up `Land Drainage Act 1991` may be something in it of use.
Haven’t approached the neighbour yet and probably won’t. We will end up using soakways but it would be nice to have the option of using the drain. This is all for one average sized house.
Exfarmer
Member
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds
Totally different disposing of surface water from a house/ patio etc to land drainage. I expect planners are within rights to insist on soak away
Lincs Lass
Member
- Location
- north lincs
What sort of soil have you got ,,if its clay a soakaway wont work
Farfrae
Member
- Location
- Pontargothi, Carmarthenshire
From www.environmentlaw.org.uk
There is a natural right of drainage that allows water that flows naturally across your land to flow downhill naturally to your neighbour’s land. But you are not allowed to artificially channel water a way that will cause damage your neighbour’s land. If you do, you may face a civil action. (Example: Yes - Rainwater that falls on your lawn is allowed to flow downhill through your neighbour’s land. No - You are not allowed to channel roof water through a down pipe on to your neighbour’s property.)
There is a natural right of drainage that allows water that flows naturally across your land to flow downhill naturally to your neighbour’s land. But you are not allowed to artificially channel water a way that will cause damage your neighbour’s land. If you do, you may face a civil action. (Example: Yes - Rainwater that falls on your lawn is allowed to flow downhill through your neighbour’s land. No - You are not allowed to channel roof water through a down pipe on to your neighbour’s property.)
- Location
- East yorks
Depends on the type of water drainage, the neighbour cannot concrete over 3 acres and put the outfall into your field even if you are downhill
Tha Ulsterscot
Member
- Location
- Greyabbey Co. Down.
Just put the soak away along the side of the Drain on your side of the boundry. As has been stated water will follow gradient..
Goweresque
Member
- Location
- North Wilts
You can send water from a new development into neighbouring ditches, if you can show that the flows do not exceed the existing agricultural ones. You'd need some sort of attenuation system for that. If the flows exceed agricultural levels then yes you would need a wayleave from the downstream landowner.
If its just agricultural water drainage then the neighbour has to accept it, they can't do anything about it.
If its just agricultural water drainage then the neighbour has to accept it, they can't do anything about it.
Does this still apply if the neighbour has piped the original ditch to make his garden bigger?
Goweresque
Member
- Location
- North Wilts
If the flows are still agricultural then yes. You're not supposed to impede the flow of water through existing ditches. Has the neighbour ever applied to the local drainage authority (usually the local authority, though could be a Drainage Board) to pipe a watercourse? The Land Drainage Act of 1991 requires any work to a watercourse that could impede the flow of drainage water to be given permission by the relevant Drainage Authority:
http://adlib.everysite.co.uk/adlib/defra/content.aspx?doc=18341&id=18343
There's a website covering all the Drainage Authorities so you can find out who the relevant body is in your area:
https://www.ada.org.uk/
- Location
- Ceredigion
Water from the hill above and run off from the house gutters etc is making my own paddock boggy , if run a ditch down the side of my paddock to catch all this it will have to go into the niebours ditch at the bottom of the field ,does he have right to refuse ?
He eirlier refused a right for a discarge from a private sewage treament plant for the house,before my time
He eirlier refused a right for a discarge from a private sewage treament plant for the house,before my time
so, while you are entitled to land drainage, you're not automatically entitled to surface water and roof run off. as these can be far larger than the land drainage the current system provided. you can ask, but if written consent is needed for planning, then that's what you need,
my route would be,
avoid the use of their drainage pipe directly, so a large soakaway system. rain water holding tank and grey water system, prove your unlikely to be a big issue.
if you cannot get that passed like that, talk to the neighbours, and ask why do they not want it?
you may have to pay for a larger pipe to replace the current one and a work agreement to sort out any problems your water may cause your neighbours., you may also need to prove your run off which will be faster and far greater than the bare land moved down the drains can be coped with down the system taking it. even past your neighbours.
i was on a drainage board, these issues are common and councils push the problems to the people looking for planning, but they also know that if they do not put these checks in place problems happen, everyone just assumes water will find a home, the problem is it's not aways a happy one.
so, adding this clause fixes the issues for the council, but it's hard if you have a difficult neighbour.
if it was an estate, you're after i.e. more than one house, you're lucky they did not push it to the drainage board they do in our area.
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Get the advice of a good land agent. Then, if he gets it wrong, you can sue him. They all have insurance.
- Location
- Ceredigion
Supprising what you can get with a carrot
In the end it’s not about if you would have permitted rights, the council have made it a stipulation of planning, so regardless of anyones rights, he will now need the agreement the council asked for, is that simple, sounds not, will it in the long run tackle drainage issues in the area, most likely, which is why the council does these things.
it does give those next door all the power, and some will not budge for anyone so it’s not great, the next step is if getting an agreement is not possible, prove you will not add to the existing flow in the ditches to the council and hope they take the requirement off, I would try to do correspondence with the neighbour via email, so you can share them if they block all reasonable approaches this may help if the council can see they are not being reasonable with you, but you can prove your scheme plan is not going to increase water flow at there pipe.
- Location
- Ceredigion
I have permision off one niebour for an outfall ,not spoken to the other yet ,if thos is then just a sipple drain to drain the field do i still need to contact the council