New Red Kite Law business column

‘The Business Brief’ is the new column from Red Kite Law in the Carmarthen Journal. It started its run this week -

Welcome to the new business column from the recently-established Red Kite Law, the biggest legal firm in West Wales.
By John Lewis, senior partner, Red Kite Law
Talking about sewerage might not be the most attractive way to start a new business column, but it’s a very topical – and very important – issue.
On October 1 the biggest change in responsibility for sewerage services in England and Wales since 1937 took place.
The ownership of all private sewers and lateral drains (but not pumping stations) which were in existence on July 1, 2011, and which connect to an existing public sewer passed to Dwr Cymru (in Wales).
A private sewer is a pipe which serves two or more properties conveying either sewerage and/or surface water and connects properties to an existing public sewer. A lateral private drain is a section of pipe serving a single property (or several buildings within a single curtilage) and which lies outside of that property's curtilage.
Any part of a private drain which is within the boundary of the property will remain the responsibility of the property owner.
Whilst sewers or lateral drains in existence before July 1, which meet the necessary criteria, were adopted on October 1, the water companies will still continue to be able to use any financial/bond provisions that may be in place to recover expenditure they incur on work carried to sewers and drains before the vesting date.
Where applicable, after October 1, bonds that are in existence may be released and developers will be notified via the post as to which of the bonds are to be released.
The proposals also affect new sewerage systems which will be subject to far more vigorous checks and inspections before they can be adopted.
They will have to be built to a minimum national standard and the developer will have to first enter into an adoption agreement with Dwr Cymru before a connection can be made to the public system.
Due to the complexity of the new regulations and their potential effect on developments, it is essential to obtain legal advice at an early stage.
As a result, plans attached to adoption agreements will need to include the sewers and lateral drains within plots.
It will be essential to start negotiations early on the adoption agreement, as a request for connection will prompt the water company to check whether the agreement is in place.
Developers should remember that storm sewers draining to a water course will not be affected by the change and statutory agreements with the water authority will still be required for those sewers.
If you would like to discuss how these changes may affect your development, please contact John Lewis, the Head of our Commercial Property Department ,on 01267 239000.
Red Kite Law can be found on the internet on –
http://www.redkitelaw.co.uk