Fears Scottish Water will not adopt Lathro sewers
A council team tasked to investigate problems at a troubled housing development in Kinross reckon its sewers and drains are so poor Scottish Water is reluctant to take responsibility for them, the PA can reveal.
Building standards surveyor John Panton admitted in a reply to a complaint seen by the PA that his team have “a major concern” Scottish Water is unwilling to adopt the systems built by Persimmon Homes at its Lathro Meadows development off the A922.
But he said complaints from residents about flooding, waste backing up into their homes and contractors having to pump out drains “is between Persimmon [and] Scottish Water to resolve”.
And he went on to say his team had to rely on assurances provided by builders about the standard of their work because of “limited resources” and that the number of complaints raised by residents about Lathro Farm had led to a “huge consumption of [their] time and resources that [they] simply don’t have any more”.
He said: “We have been aware there have been numerous complaints regarding drainage and poor construction for this site.
“The council does not have responsibility for the internal or external drainage for the whole site due to Persimmon using a certifier of construction for drainage.
“We have previously reported the drainage problem back to the building standards division who oversees the certifying body to take any action they see fit.
“The main sewer problem is between Persimmon [and] Scottish Water to resolve.
“My own understanding is that Scottish Water won’t adopt the sewer until all the faults have been rectified.
“A major concern is that Scottish Water won’t adopt the drainage system at all.”
He went on: “The completion certificate was accepted by the council back in [October, 2, 2019].
“Although the plots on this site were inspected during construction and before we accept[ed] completion, our limited resources means that we have to rely even more upon the certificate of completion being correct.
“Once the council accepts the certificate of completion we can’t go back and ask for further work to be done.”
He added: “There have been several discussions and meetings with Persimmon at various levels of management up to the depute chief executive level regarding the above problems and to highlight the huge consumption of our time and resources that we simply don’t have any more.
“I was assigned this site only at the problem stage and have approximately six houses still awaiting the faults to be rectified at the moment.
“Our advice to the owners has been to contact Persimmon customer care or the house guarantee provider or seek legal advice to have their problems solved.”
Local resident Ken Whitcombe, a member of the Lathro Action Group, said there were concerns the sewage issue would affect the 25-year-old Lathro Park development.
He added: “I specifically warned PKC in writing about the problems they have found themselves in on this development before any work began. PKC acknowledged receipt of my written submission, stated they would consider this and then ignored it.”
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said it had taken steps to recitify the issue.
They added: “Upon completion of the works to resolve these issues, Persimmon Homes shall undertake a series of tests and surveys to verify that the sewer is defect free and operating to the appropriate standard, whereupon the scheme shall be presented to Scottish Water for adoption.”
And a Scottish Water spokesperson said: “We work closely with developers to ensure the required infrastructure is in place for new builds and continue to do so with both Persimmon and PKC in respect of the development at Lathro Farm.
“We understand that remedial work to deal with surface water at the development is being undertaken, although this is currently on hold due to government guidance around coronavirus.
“Once the work has been completed, a full investigation and inspection of assets will be carried out to ensure the network meets the required standards and if any further work is required this will have to be completed before the assets can be formally transferred into Scottish Water’s care.”
A spokeperson for Perth and Kinross Council said it had been working with householders on the issue “despite having no formal role in the concerns raised by residents in relation to drainage”.
They added: “Persimmon took responsibility for drainage within individual plots during construction via the certifier of construction scheme and complaints about the quality of work should be made directly to Persimmon in the first instance and if necessary to the Scottish Government’s building standards division.
“Drainage outside each individual plot is also the responsibility of Persimmon until it is adopted by Scottish Water.
“The focus of the building standards team remains carrying out its statutory functions.”