CIC Cascade

DEFRA has been carrying out reviews since the 1990s on private sewers and drains in England and Wales. The first stage review looked at new private sewers and drains, and the key proposal that was implemented in 2002 was that all new sewers should be built to a standard that would not preclude them from being adopted.

The second stage review is looking at existing private sewers. DEFRA and the Welsh Assembly Government appointed WS Atkins to undertake a research contract to review the extent and consider problems associated with existing private sewers and rains in England and Wales, particularly with regard to their ownership and maintenance, and to formulate workable and sustainable solutions to address these problems. The consultation paper summarises the findings of the research undertaken, and views are invited on this paper.

The research is concerned principally with problems associated with household drainage, but also included non-domestic premises. The research found that:

Half of all domestic properties were served by private sewers or lateral drains. Of these 10% were connected to private storage or lateral drains.
Local authorities received reports of flooding from private sewers affecting approximately 108,000 properties per year.
Certain problems could be resolved without recourse to further legislation.
Many property owners whose properties were connected via private pipelines were disquiet about their obligation to pay sewerage charges without any reduction to help maintain their private sewers and lateral drains.

The paper highlights the typical problems found and suggests possible ways to improve the situation. To help formulate an overall strategy, five potential ‘options’ have been produced:

Transfer of ownership of private sewers and lateral drains.
Transfer of management responsibilities for private sewers and lateral drains.
Adoption of private ‘lateral’ pipes.
New enforcing legislation.
General legislation improvements and guidance.

Comments are invited on those possible solutions and options set out in Chapters 8 & 9 of the document by 26 September 2003. A response form setting out the key questions is attached to the document. Responses should be sent to:

Sarah Russell
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Zone 3/H23
Ashdown House
123 Victoria Street
London SW1E 6DE

Tel: 020 7944 5396
Fax: 020 7944 5408
Email: sarah.russell@defra.gsi.gov.uk

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2003 Building Sights Award launched at Childrens Hospital

The 2003 Building Sights Award for the best public access to a building site was launched at the new Evelina Children's Hospital, currently under construction. The Building Sights Award, worth £5,000, is open to any building, private or public, which has been completed or is in progress during 2002/2003, and has engaged the public, physically or virtually, in the construction process. It is supported jointly by Arts Council England and the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). Launching the Building Sights Award today, Emma King, Senior Architect, Arts Council England said:

'Building Sights taps into a growing interest in the evolution of the buildings that surround us. It encourages all those involved in the building process to open up and use construction as a tool to inform and excite the public. I am delighted that we are able to encourage innovative practice through this award.

'Alastair Gourlay, Senior Projects Manager for Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, is managing the development of the new £60 million Evelina Children's Hospital. He said:

'We are delighted to be hosting the launch of this year's Building Sights Award because we strongly believe that involving the public in the development of our new hospital goes hand in hand with our philosophy of providing the best possible care for children and their families.

Members of the public voted for their favourite design during the architectural competition to choose the design team. Hopkins Architects were selected. Children and our staff were then involved in shaping the final design.

Working in partnership with our contractors MJ Gleeson we have set up a web cam which can be viewed at www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk, so that people can monitor construction on the site. We have also installed a two metre high hoarding on the side of the building site so that passing motorists and pedestrians will know about the new children's hospital being built.

'The Building Sights Award is about site access and not about the public consultation process. Although schemes which have been open as part of a wider consultation process will be considered, this Award will not evaluate other aspects of consultation. Similarly, the Building Sights Award will not consider the architectural merits of the building under construction. It is about the way in which people outside the construction industry engage with the construction process The Award will be made to the client organisation. The winning recipient will be encouraged to spend the £5,000 in a way that continues to support the public interest.

The Judges for the Building Sights Award will be:

Nicole Crockett Director of the Building Exploratory

Paul Finch Publishing Director of the Architects' Journal and CABE Deputy Chairman

Peter Jenkinson National Director, Creative Partnerships at Arts Council England

Wayne Hemingway Hemingway Design

Turlogh O'Brien Chairman of the Construction Industry Council

Ben Spencer Head of CABE Education

Emma King Senior Architect, Arts Council England

Applications are invited from architects, engineers, clients and contractors. Nominations will also be accepted from members of the public who have benefited from Building Sights. Application forms and further information can be downloaded from www.buildingsights.org.uk . Completed forms need to be at CABE by 30 September 2003 and the winner will be announced during National Construction Week (8-15 October).

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CIC Publish Collateral Warranty Contracts!

The Construction Industry Council have published new consultant collateral warranties for funders and purchasers/tenants of commercial or industrial development.

These new forms are long overdue. Standard forms were published some ten or more years ago and the CIC warranties take into account changes in law and drafting practices since then. The format will be familiar to consultants and clients, and they can be used alongside the JCT warranties for contractors and subcontractors.

The forms can be used by any construction consultant agreeing to provide a collateral warranty, and where the law is that of England and Wales or of Scotland.

The contracts have been published in sets of five with guidance notes. For further information and order forms please go to http://www.cic.org.uk/services/publicationsCIC.shtml#Collateralwarranties
or contact Publications Construction Industry Council, at Publications@cic.org.uk or 020 7399 7400.

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SD4BP website launched The DTI co-funded "SD4BP" website was launched on the 10th July - by cross-industry project consortium. The website aims to help building professionals find training courses to develop their sustainability capability.

Prof Sue Roaf, author and lecturer at Oxford Brookes University, gave a stirring Keynote address with passionate warnings about the reality of the threat of Climate Change accompanied by inspirational examples of what can and has been done.

She said " It has been said that the 19th century was the age of coal, the 20th century of oil and the 21st will be the age of solar energy - which one of us knows the truth of where will be in ten, twenty or fifty years? "

Also speaking at the launch Dave Hampton, Director of ABS consulting asked:

"Is the 'syllabus' right? Is sustainability being integrated into all of the many and various training courses on offer fast enough, and is it radical enough?" He further suggested that sustainability education might be a case of: "Helping younger generations educate themselves without their education being compromised by the ability of past generations to educate their own?!"

(Loosely based on the Brundtland definition of sustainability!) and proposed that "globally there is need for a massive re-education exercise -for us all- if we are to face the global sustainability challenge and survive. We need to start now! "

The site can be accessed at http://www.sd4bp.com/ . Further details of the project area available from Michael Colyer at ABS consulting.

The launch of the project co-incided with the re-launch of the ABS consulting corporate website along with the publication of ABS' Summer 2003 newsletter on http://www.absconsulting.uk.com/news.htm

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