FAQs: Free Upgrade Scheme

Yes, we can upgrade shared systems.  Both you and your neighbour will need to enter into shared legal agreements.  Please talk to your neighbours and ensure they also want to upgrade before contacting us as we cannot negotiate with your neighbour on your behalf.

Yes, we can provide a free sewage treatment plant and separate you from your neighbours under the scheme.  However, this implies a new discharge either to ground or to a stream which must be technically feasible.  And we cannot separate your property from neighbours if it would ‘cut them off’ from the existing system.  Please register your interest and we will consider the options when we survey your property.

Yes, we can still upgrade your septic tank if it lies on third party land but the new sewage treatment plant will need to be located on your land.  The new sewage treatment plant can still discharge into soakaways or streams that are not on your land.

Yes, we can upgrade septic tanks which are currently illegal.  However, we cannot claim the same level of benefit from these upgrades and you may not be eligible for a cash incentive.

Unlike other schemes that provide a fixed cash incentive as a ‘contribution towards landscaping’, our scheme commits first to providing a complete upgrade with the highest quality of reinstatement.  Our upgrades include all electrical work, professional commissioning by British Water-accredited engineers, Building Control and reinstatement of works.  When we survey your property, our engineers will assess the complexity of the upgrade and we use this to define the cash incentive that we will offer you.

For you to qualify for a free upgrade, you must enter into a ‘Planning Agreement’ with the Council.  The agreement is called a ‘Unilateral Undertaking’.  You will be agreeing to:

• The installation of the new sewage treatment plant and the decommissioning of the old system
• Appointing a competent service provider for the maintenance of the new sewage treatment plant for the life of the system. We will do this free of charge for the first five years following installation.
• Having the discharge from the sewage treatment plant monitored each year to ensure that it is performing the required level. We will do this free of charge for the first five years following installation.
• Only ever replacing the new sewage treatment plant with a system which delivers an equivalent level of treatment quality.
• Allowing the Council rights of access (on 21 days’ notice) to your property to check that the sewage treatment plant is working.
• And not to sell the land where the sewage treatment plant lies independently of the property.

Under the terms of your S106 agreement with Somerset Council, you are obliged to pay an administration fee of £300 only if your sewage treatment plant fails to perform adequately over two consecutive years.  The monitoring fee is not an annual payment and is only payable if you have to inform the Council of a failure.

Yes, you can sell your property. The Council will register your agreement to the conditions listed above as a legal charge on the property and the obligations will be passed to any new owner of the property.  In many ways, this may aid the sale of the property as you will be able to demonstrate that your foul drainage system is completely compliant.

Yes, properties that are mortgaged still quality.  However, you will be responsible for gaining your mortgage company’s consent to the Council taking a charge on the property.

Yes, we are supplying and installing the new sewage treatment plant free of charge but it will be yours on completion of the works.

Your new sewage treatment plant will form part of a compliant foul drainage system.  In most cases, this will mean that the system complies with the Environment Agency’s ‘General Binding Rules’.  However, in some circumstances, the discharge may need to be covered by Environmental Permit and we will tell you if this is the case.

Yes, your installation will be covered by Building Control and we will provide you with a comprehensive ‘Completion Pack’ which includes a Building Completion Certificate, an Electrical Completion Certificate, the manufacturer’s operations manual, a service plan and even a photographic record of the works.

In line with our company privacy policy, we hold all personal data securely and will not pass details of your property or its sewage treatment plant onto any third party.  If you decide not to proceed with an upgrade of your sewage treatment plant with WCI, or indeed, if your property is not eligible for a free upgrade as part of this scheme, rest assured that your details will not be shared with anyone outside of WCI.

Your obligation under the Planning Agreement is to ensure ongoing operation and performance of your new PTP and the Council’s Planning Agreement requires you to apply ‘Best Endeavours’ to resolve failures.  This means that if there is a component failure it will be both reasonable and best to replace those components.  If it is associated with complete failure of the tank structure, it is both reasonable and best to repair the tank if possible and replace it if not.  Fortunately, the tank comes with a 15 year manufacturer’s warranty and a 3 year manufacturer’s warranty on components so with WCI’s expert servicing ensuring ongoing operation and performance is easy.