Snakes and ladders for developers

You’ve found a piece of developable land… you move 5 spaces forward.

It receives outline planning permission… you move 2 steps forward and climb and ladder.

You have to remove 2 houses to make space for a pumping station…go back 7 spaces.

Monopoly, perhaps a better suited board game for developers!

We acknowledge pumping stations are not the joy of everybody’s life (nobody it seems).

Issues can include:-

· Amount of land it takes up, although the pump station may take up 150m2 the exclusion area can take up to 1,600m2. This not only means that houses cannot be too near the pump station potentially reducing the site potential but means that the land used for a pump station could be worth up to £735,000 in some locations (see note 1).

· Rising main agreements where the rising main goes off site can involve negotiation with various parties who may throw up objections.

· They are typically the deepest manhole on the site, sometime by a long way making construction costs quite high.

· Water companies don’t like them either and set strict guidelines for them (well known to our teams, though) and will make sure they are 100% satisfied with them operating for at least 12 months before taking them on

These are some of the reasons they are worth getting right once and for all.

Our team will:-

· Assist you with free advice and do’s and do not’s when a pump station is required on a site

· Negotiate directly with the water authority on your behalf (with your permission and if required)

· Reply to comments quickly, in most cases up to 2 weeks after receipt.

· Be there for you at the adoption stage with the water company

· Use quality components that water companies are familiar with, delayed technical approval means delays on site and unnecessary incurred costs.

· Make sure your system is Fit for Purpose and Built to Last.

Note 1 - This is based on the average land value of £4.9m per acre of residential land in Reading, Berkshire from the Land value estimates for policy appraisal 2017 found here https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/land-value-estimates.