Dawlish News

Sewage floods have affected properties in Devon more than 50 times in the past three years, according to residents.

South West Water said it was working to resolve the issues "urgently".

Read more...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-35001707

As someone pointed out to me - it makes you wonder just how much of that sewage might get walked into Sainsburys store. 

'Sewerage Leak Secmaton Lane back of Bovis Home development' 06th Sept 2014 - discussion on Dawlish.com opened by flo.

'Sewage problem at Shutterton' 28th Feb 2015 - discussion on Dawlish.com opened by Lynne.

In my opinion SW Water do not wish to spend any money upgrading the sewers due to the major housing developments that are taking place around Dawlish. Although they are quite happy to take the water/sewage rates from these properties. Possibly a class action suit by the many people and properties affected might wake them up!!!!

The Sainsburys end of Secmaton Lane is only 4 metres above sea level. So the stream has to travel about a mile before reaching the Exe with very little drop. This must be why that area is very difficult to drain. SWW have already done a lot of work in the area and perhaps further work is just too costly.

I was going to suggest that the costs for SWW needing to do whatever it is they need to do should be sourced from the developers/landowners in the Gatehouse/Secmaton/Langdon areas whose land is scheduled to be developed into at least (at least!) some 800+ dwellings and who, because of that, will be making a fair few shillings thank you very much. 

But then I realised that those who would truly and literally pay the cost would be those buying the new homes as the landowners/developers would simply increase the cost of the homes in order to recoup any monies they had had to pay out to SWW.

Doh.

(mind you, if what Paul says is correct, then surely if it was known that the land is difficult to drain why have the powers that be identified the whole area as one for lots of house building? Answer(s) anyone?)   

There are problems with flooding all over Dawlish Brunswick Place has had flooding 3 times in 11 months the problem surface  water and sewage are combined a heavy downpour and the system overflows.  Now most of Dawlish has a combined system and it cant cope with the cloud burst's we now seem to get on a regular basis and it must very difficult for SWW to keep up with weather variations.   If we take a recent event in my home town of Keswick flood barriers have been extended by 1 metre as the previos flood barriers overtoped by 1inch in 2009/ 2010 yesterday the new barriers overtoped by 4 inches so what do they do now add another metre and spend millions.  More housing will add to the problem in Dawlish and surface water can be stored on site but as Lynne says it will put up the price of housing but thats the price we have to pay these problems can be overcome but it all comes at a cost and are you all prepared to pay?

http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/cumbriafoundation/cumbriafloodappeal2015        A SMALL DONATION WILL MAKE SOMEONES CHRISTMAS A LITTLE BETTER

SWW have known about the sewerage problem around Secmanton and Shutterton for years. Its nothing to do with land drainage the main sewer deep under the A379 is slowly collapsing and as it does it becomes more suseptable to blockages. The whole system from the Warren road pumping station needs replacing but the cost would be millions and the A379 road would have to be closed for months. SWW keep telling TDC the system can cope every time planning for more development is submited, but this is simply not true. It cant cope with the summer influx of holiay makers at Ladys Mile and Golden Sands, and the industrial estate road and main road by the old petrol station is covered in sewerage several times every summer. There seriousely needs to be a public meeting held in order to get a solution to this problem and a hold put on any more deveopment until the new infrastcture is in place. Comments from the Environment Agency welcomed below.

This is SWW's consultation response concerning the major housing & employment planning application on land adjacent to Langdon Hospital.

I refer to the above application and would advise that South West Water are not satisfied that the public foul drainage network has capacity to support the development without causing downstream property flooding.

As such should your Council be mindful to approve the application the following condition needs to be imposed;

Foul Drainage

No development shall commence until:

a)    a detailed survey and evaluation of the public foul sewerage network has taken place (at the Owner’s expense) to identify  improvements necessary to be funded in advance and executed to accommodate the discharge of foul sewage from the Development;  and

b)    the Owner has submitted an application to the relevant Sewerage Undertaker for a public foul sewer requisition under s98 of the Water Industry Act 1991 (which shall include the provision of public sewerage improvement works identified as necessary).

No dwelling hereby approved shall be occupied or brought into use and there shall be no discharge to the public foul sewerage network, unless approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority (as in accordance with the scheme of improvement works identified by the Sewerage Undertaker as necessary to accommodate the discharge of foul sewage from the Development).

Martyn Dunn 
Development Coordinator" 

and this is SWW's response to the big development proposed at Gatehouse Farm.

I refer to the above application and would advise that the existing public foul drainage network has insufficient capacity to accommodate the proposed development.

This has previously been made known to the applicant who has subsequently funded foul drainage evaluation which has established the extent of improvements necessary and which will be delivered by means of their entering into a sewer requisition under Section 98-101 0f the Water Act.

Should your Council be mindful to approve the application we would request that the following conditions are imposed;

Foul Drainage

No development shall take place until a sewer requisition or alternative scheme for the provision of off-site foul drainage improvement works has been entered into, and confirmed in writing by the sewerage undertaker to the Local Planning Authority.

No dwelling hereby approved shall be occupied and there shall be no discharge to the public foul sewerage network, until the completion of works to ensure sufficient capacity within the public foul sewerage network to accommodate the foul sewage discharge from the development proposed, or it is confirmed in writing by the sewerage undertaker that sufficient capacity exists to accommodate the development.

Reason: To ensure there are adequate public foul sewerage facilities to receive foul water flows from the development in order to safeguard the environment.

Martyn Dunn 
Development Coordinator 
01392 443702 
South West Water, Peninsula House, Rydon Lane, Exeter, EX2 7HR

Peninsula House

Rydon Lane

Exeter

Devon EX2 7HR"

So from the spotlight program on the 4th December we all saw what is happening on an all too regular occurrence in the Secmaton Lane area.  So regular that one of the Gardens  in Secmaton Lane was again flooded by sewage on Sunday night. Why this time,  no heavy rain over night so what’s the excuse this time SWW.   

I wonder what the recomendations of the Gatehouse Farm Developments consultant will be. Could it be lets dig up the lane to put in a new sewer after all its only 36 houses that will have their lives disrupted while we do it. That will leave the developers free to get on building houses without the link road and making more profits.

Wonder what sewer's the suggested application for the development at Langdon Hospital grounds will share?

@Lynne   the letters from sww are to cover their own backs, and relate to the two latest planning applications for the area. they have done nothing about the previous and on going gatehouse/secmanton developments. in any case tdc planning dept do not take any objection letters into account when considering these new developments. the elected planning committee arent even going to have a say, this is to hush any local opposition. i challenge tdc to submit a list of their respective planning officers and their relevant qualifications for making desisions without public consultation, as i believe they are not qualified and only make decisions based on the financial benifits to tdc.  also behind closed doors they seem to have accepted a buy out of the section 106 clauses preventing the occupation of the shutterton park development relating to sangs. we urgently need an independant enquiry by known experts in planning law to look into tdcs dealing with major development companies, because this continuing ruination of green farming land is no longer based around local need but the authorities greed.

@FB Bet you both of those planning applications go to TDC's planning committee.

Re Shutterton Park aka Warren Grove - the Redrow development. I agree that the original S106 agreement re Sangs provision has been altered recently. However, that does not mean that a SANGS does not have to be in place. As far as I can ascertain from reading the recent legal docs, in the absence of the Warren Farm SANGs being in place (which it isn't), Redrow will now be providing a temporary SANGS on site thereby fulfilling there having to be a SANGS in place before any of their development can have residents.  

Have I read the Deed of Variation incorrectly?     

http://gis.teignbridge.gov.uk/TeignbridgePlanningOnline/Results.aspx?Type=Application&Refval=15/02468/MAJ

this planning application (the big Gatehouse farm one) was discussed at the last town council planning meeting held on 19th November.

Click on the link above and then on associated documents (see bottom left hand of page) for what the town council said about it.  

Letter in today's Gazette about sewage problem.

http://www.dawlishnewspapers.co.uk/article.cfm?id=101374&headline=Investment%20in%20infrastructure%20is%20needed%20now%2C%20not%20later%E2%80%A6&sectionIs=letters&searchyear=2015

I'm sure if TDC's planning dept had to endure bouts of sewage outside their offices on a regular basis it would be resolved very quickly. When I walk around the local area and see some of the nightmare buildings that TDC have allowed planning permission on. Which are either just ugly (in my opinion) or just standout as alien in the location they have been built.

This is only the start of infrastructure problems as more houses, offices and other large structures are rubber stamped by the planning dept without thought for what is beyond the plans of the developments. The word BLINKERED comes to mind.