Surface water drains, rights and responsibilities

[andyandy2]

Not sure if i'm posting this in the correct section, i'm sure drains come under plumbing but this query seems more of a legal matter I live in one of two semi detached cottages, in open country side, our surface water drains run through agricultural land before discharging in a main watercourse and on to the river.
Recently we have had problems with blocked drains, this has been traced to collapsed drain in the field, it is a six inch perforated land drain pipe which has been almost completely crushed, possibly due to settlement of the ground or possibly due to compaction from heavy machinery, A temporary repair has been carried out although we've been advised the whole length needs replacing, we have been told we are responsible for paying the repair bill and i presume would also be expected to pay for future repair replacement,
My questions are
1. should we be paying if it has been damaged by machinery etc.
2. the drain also carries a large amount of water from another field on the opposite side of the cottages so should it at least be a shared responsibility
3. the drain used to be an open ditch but was piped, filled in and 2 fields made into one, should we of been consulted about the change, an open ditch would of been easy from our point of view to maintain
Any help would be much appreciated thanks

 

[Diyisfun]

I think your first point of contact should be with whoever you are paying water rates to.

 

[greengrass]

Ok I type it in lower case

check your title deeds for drainage responsability or contact your local land registry office. you can get downloads of deeds off the internet but you must have the title deed number.
check with the water company that you're not being charged for surface water drainage. If you are then aks them to maintain the pipework at their expense.

find out who filled in the ditch as it took away your right to easy maintenance and if the pipes in this area are damaged then it is not down to you to repair its down to whoever put them in. with the neighbour seek legal advice some solicitors give half hour free..

if the cottages were part of a local farm estate the drainage would have been done by the fact it was cheap and probably no local storm drains available, therefore the cottages retain the right to that method of drainage permision granted or not, which I think means the land owner/farmer cannot demand the removal of your drainage pipes.

example a garage that required planning permision was built on neigbouring property and after 12 yrs new owners moved in and complained about the size of the garage. the result was the council said as it had been errected for longer than 12 yrs then nothing can be done about it.
i'd be interested to know the outcome.

Moderator read rule six is this ok now?
__________________________________
lynda, moderator

Please note forum rule 6

 

[bernardgreen]

Land Drainage Act 1994 may apply to the ditch that was filled in.

Contact your local Internal Drainage Board who may be able to offer advice about the repair of the pipe.

2. the drain also carries a large amount of water from another field on the opposite side of the cottages so should it at least be a shared responsibility

If it is draining open land then 6 inch seems very small diameter and the owner and/or tenant of that land may have an interest if the blockage leads to flooding of his land.

 

[bernardgreen]

http://www.defra.gov.uk/rds/alt/docs/LDAGuidanceNotes.pdf

1. Statutory Provisions The Land Drainage Act 1991, Section 28-31, provides a remedy for owners and occupiers of land, which has suffered injury or is prevented from being improved by drainage, through a neighbour’s neglect of his/her ditches.

2. Cleansing of ditches Where it is alleged that land is being injured, or where its drainage
by a neighbour cannot be improved because a neighbour or other person neglects their ditches, the owner or the occupier of the land affected may ask an Agricultural Land Tribunal to make an order specifying the drainage work which should be carried out. However, he/she may not do so if the ditch is a watercourse vested in or under the control of a drainage body; such watercourses are outside the jurisdiction of the Agricultural Land Tribunal. Applications to a tribunal will be made on and in accordance with the appropriate form obtainable from one of the secretaries to Agricultural Land Tribunals listed in the Appendix.
Every application should be accompanied by a map of the land which is the subject of the application, on a scale of not less that 6” to one mile or 1:10,000. Such maps should clearly show the position of the ditch concerned and the fields affected by the problem, which should be clearly marked with the ordnance survey numbers.
On receipt of an application the Tribunal will obtain a technical report on the problem from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. After taking account of the views of all concerned the tribunal may, with or without a formal hearing (depending on the measure of agreement obtained to any recommendation in the report), make an order for specified remedial works to be carried out. The order will name the person or persons who must do the work and will give any necessary powers of entry for the purpose.

 

[andyandy2]

Thanks for the replies will look into these ideas and let you know what happens