Received from Paul Score :

Dear Sammie,

Thank you for your email and for raising your concerns, I am the local area building control surveyor and have been inspecting the building during its construction.

I understand that the planning condition requires permeable paving, but building control only regulates the rainwater discharge from buildings and not landscaping works. The soakaways for the house and the garage have been designed and I have inspected the front soakaway which appears to be as per the approved plans, I am still waiting for photos of the rear soakaway to be provided by the contractor.

Any issues with the soil compaction would be outside the scope of building regulations, this may however be a Highways or a planning issue.

The foul drainage system runs to a cesspool as there was no mains drainage and insufficient space for a soakaway from a treatment plant, this has been inspected and is in accordance with requirements of Approved Document H. The tanks are located far enough away from the neighbouring properties so as not to cause an issue with any foundations.

In terms of the stone French drain that the contractors have formed at the end of the drive, this would not be a building control issue, but that this has been reported to the Highways department and we are awaiting a response. The contractor has been requested to provide evidence from the Highways department that that they have approved the works carried out close to the road or remedial works are to be carried out. I am unaware of any issues with the drains, but this issue would be the responsibility of the Wessex Water as they would be their assets and any concerns should be reported to them.

Any changes to the original design would need to be checked with the planning team as this would be an issue for them.

I will continue to monitor the works and am awaiting a response from the Highways team, if you have any other concerns, please contact me to discuss them.

Kind regards

Paul Score

Paul Score

MSc, BSc (Hons), MCIOB

Building Control Surveyor

Somerset Building Control