Member

Section 106(4) allows for the sewerage undertaker to serve a counternotice on the developer or owner of land intended to drain to the public sewer to refuse the permit communication in narrow circumstances, including standard of the connecting drain and where it is prejudicial to the undertaker’s sewerage system. However, it does not include capacity as a ground for refusal. The Court of Appeal commented—as summarised but not contradicted by the Supreme Court—that if the developer indicates that he intends to deal with the problem of sewage by connecting to a public sewer, the planning authority can make planning permission conditional upon the sewerage authority first taking any steps necessary to ensure that the public sewer will be able to cope with the increased load. This puts the onus on the local planning authority to treat the issue of capacity as a material consideration and to resolve it by way of conditions.