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Hi, I was hoping someone could help me please! I’ll apologise in advance for the length of the post but I feel it is important to fill in the details… I bought my grandmother’s property in May of this year following her passing away last December. The property is a semi-detached house (we are the right hand of the two properties).
For a while now (going back the when my grandmother owned the property) there has been a small (for us) problem with surface water collecting at the top left of the back garden. More of an annoyance then anything as that area isn’t particularly well used.
I was aware through conversations that had happened while my grandmother was alive that the issue had also affected her neighbour for a while. Over the years they have blamed everyone from the electric board (used to be a substation to the rear of both properties, neighbouring property on another road bought the land when it went to extend their garden) to another neighbour above them that used to have a pond and just about everyone in between. A couple of years ago they even involved one of the local councillors resulting in the council’s environmental health department coming out (as Severn Trent didn’t want to help) who deduced property(s) on a neighbouring road had been flushing things they shouldn’t and that the water was foul water (leading to the sewer being cleaned). In the case of the latter I believe this was probably a coincidence rather than the cause as the water we have now certainly doesn’t smell “foul”. Allegedly a while back they were told that they needed to install a French drain on their property to deal with it but I’m guessing that they decided it was too expensive / easier to try and bully everyone else into submission! They have a reputation of getting their own way, conversational volume being their weapon of choice.
Until recently I did have some sympathy for the neighbour as wherever the water is running from it is making its way into her garage and (according to them) has been up to a foot deep. The garage is at the top right of her garden and adjacent to where the water is making its way into ours. Anyway fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and the daughter of the neighbour approached my partner and is now claiming that it somehow due to a membrane placed under the boundary fence to keep the weeds out (something was said along the lines of “it never happened before that was down” which is rubbish). I know they have never liked the fence as they did not get the “pretty side” when it was replaced but that is another story! Then last week I overheard their gardener talking to the neighbour (and peering over our fence where the water was sitting following a downpour) and proclaiming “that’s a broken pipe”, not that his opinion is valid in any way of course but it just adds fuel to their fire! I’m already getting fed up with them and would like to resolve it once and for all, they clearly think they can try it on with the new occupiers. When I was edging our lawn earlier in the week after some rain (it had grown over our top path quite a bit due to us concentrating on the inside of house since moving in) I noticed that as I was doing so water was being released and running left to right seemingly under the fence from their side to ours. I took a look over and noticed water had pooled behind their garage and above where they claimed it was coming through from our side.
I’ve checked the searches which were carried out when we purchased the property and the only sewer / drain shown is a lateral drain not too far from the back of the property. I can see where it runs quite easily as there is a manhole cover in their garden which is visible from our upstairs and marked on the searches as a junction. In any case it is a good distance away from the top of the garden where the “broken pipe” was expertly identified! I have tried asking the council (60’s ex council house) for a copy of the plans showing the drainage but they don’t have them.
At this point, I just do not get their augments; to me logically the water cannot be originating in our garden below their garage and then running uphill at 270+ degrees behind it (both gardens slope downward slightly towards the properties)!
If you are still following / reading then well done and thank you!
What I would like to know is as follows…
1.) Just to put the “broken pipe” to bed, (and I’m sorry if this is a stupid question) is there a possibility that a drain from a neighbouring property on the road above could run under our fence, through our garden and connect to the lateral drain on our property as that is the only way I can see that scenario being possible?
2.) I’ve thought about suggesting putting down some sandbags along the fence on our side, my logic being that if the water is coming from their side as I believe it’ll keep it out and if it is ours it’ll keep it in. Don’t think I can say fairer than that! Only thing putting me off is that I read on the environment agency website that they may have a “right of drainage” and if I divert the flow and it subsequently (or more to the point they claim that it has) damages their property (i.e. the garage and whatever is in it) they may have a claim against us.
3.) Am I actually obliged to do anything at all? It doesn’t affect us that much so can I just ignore them?
At this point I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do (on our side) – even if I had £1 million and / or a magic wand not sure what it would achieve! If I called a builder or my insurance I wouldn’t know what to say to them other than water keeps coming onto my / our neighbours property and I don’t know where it is coming from!
Thanks in advance.
For a while now (going back the when my grandmother owned the property) there has been a small (for us) problem with surface water collecting at the top left of the back garden. More of an annoyance then anything as that area isn’t particularly well used.
I was aware through conversations that had happened while my grandmother was alive that the issue had also affected her neighbour for a while. Over the years they have blamed everyone from the electric board (used to be a substation to the rear of both properties, neighbouring property on another road bought the land when it went to extend their garden) to another neighbour above them that used to have a pond and just about everyone in between. A couple of years ago they even involved one of the local councillors resulting in the council’s environmental health department coming out (as Severn Trent didn’t want to help) who deduced property(s) on a neighbouring road had been flushing things they shouldn’t and that the water was foul water (leading to the sewer being cleaned). In the case of the latter I believe this was probably a coincidence rather than the cause as the water we have now certainly doesn’t smell “foul”. Allegedly a while back they were told that they needed to install a French drain on their property to deal with it but I’m guessing that they decided it was too expensive / easier to try and bully everyone else into submission! They have a reputation of getting their own way, conversational volume being their weapon of choice.
Until recently I did have some sympathy for the neighbour as wherever the water is running from it is making its way into her garage and (according to them) has been up to a foot deep. The garage is at the top right of her garden and adjacent to where the water is making its way into ours. Anyway fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and the daughter of the neighbour approached my partner and is now claiming that it somehow due to a membrane placed under the boundary fence to keep the weeds out (something was said along the lines of “it never happened before that was down” which is rubbish). I know they have never liked the fence as they did not get the “pretty side” when it was replaced but that is another story! Then last week I overheard their gardener talking to the neighbour (and peering over our fence where the water was sitting following a downpour) and proclaiming “that’s a broken pipe”, not that his opinion is valid in any way of course but it just adds fuel to their fire! I’m already getting fed up with them and would like to resolve it once and for all, they clearly think they can try it on with the new occupiers. When I was edging our lawn earlier in the week after some rain (it had grown over our top path quite a bit due to us concentrating on the inside of house since moving in) I noticed that as I was doing so water was being released and running left to right seemingly under the fence from their side to ours. I took a look over and noticed water had pooled behind their garage and above where they claimed it was coming through from our side.
I’ve checked the searches which were carried out when we purchased the property and the only sewer / drain shown is a lateral drain not too far from the back of the property. I can see where it runs quite easily as there is a manhole cover in their garden which is visible from our upstairs and marked on the searches as a junction. In any case it is a good distance away from the top of the garden where the “broken pipe” was expertly identified! I have tried asking the council (60’s ex council house) for a copy of the plans showing the drainage but they don’t have them.
At this point, I just do not get their augments; to me logically the water cannot be originating in our garden below their garage and then running uphill at 270+ degrees behind it (both gardens slope downward slightly towards the properties)!
If you are still following / reading then well done and thank you!
What I would like to know is as follows…
1.) Just to put the “broken pipe” to bed, (and I’m sorry if this is a stupid question) is there a possibility that a drain from a neighbouring property on the road above could run under our fence, through our garden and connect to the lateral drain on our property as that is the only way I can see that scenario being possible?
2.) I’ve thought about suggesting putting down some sandbags along the fence on our side, my logic being that if the water is coming from their side as I believe it’ll keep it out and if it is ours it’ll keep it in. Don’t think I can say fairer than that! Only thing putting me off is that I read on the environment agency website that they may have a “right of drainage” and if I divert the flow and it subsequently (or more to the point they claim that it has) damages their property (i.e. the garage and whatever is in it) they may have a claim against us.
3.) Am I actually obliged to do anything at all? It doesn’t affect us that much so can I just ignore them?
At this point I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do (on our side) – even if I had £1 million and / or a magic wand not sure what it would achieve! If I called a builder or my insurance I wouldn’t know what to say to them other than water keeps coming onto my / our neighbours property and I don’t know where it is coming from!
Thanks in advance.
