Pro Designer

Appeal to the water companies before the deadline

I believe that the hosepipe ban imposed by the seven water companies in the south east will have a serious impact on the hundreds of small businesses working in the landscape industry in the south east.

Whilst we all understand the seriousness of the drought, the blanket ban imposed by Thames Water and others means that from 5 April, hosepipes cannot be used to water newly installed planting, turf and seeded areas. If you have not yet fully considered the implications of this, I have outlined my concerns in my letter of appeal (see below) and I am asking for a discretionary period for new garden installations.

All the water companies have a consulting period where representations or appeals can be made. The deadline for representations for Thames Water is 21 March (in writing to: Public Consultations Team, 2nd East, Thames Water, Clearwater Court, Reading, RG1 8DB - or by email to consultations@thameswater.co.uk). Check your water company for their deadlines and addresses. 

I urge LJN members in the south east affected by this (there must be hundreds) to write to their water companies (please feel free to adapt my letter for your own business case if it helps). If there are enough people appealing and asking for a discretionary period, maybe our voices will be heard.

As an open association LJN is a voice in the industry and actively supports small businesses - a letter from LJN on behalf of its members in the south east may carry more weight. Strength in numbers?

My appeal letter is now in the Business Objectives Group

Water companies in the United Kingdom

Tags: ban, businesses, designers, drought, garden, hosepipe, landscapers, small

Views: 3584

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Emma Renton on March 18, 2012 at 15:07

South East Water also has an exemption for 65 year olds and over.  Hmm.

Permalink Reply by Jane Heath on March 18, 2012 at 16:23

and also, "some concessions for small businesses".  I wonder what that means exactly?

Emma Renton said:

South East Water also has an exemption for 65 year olds and over.  Hmm.

Permalink Reply by T & S Plants on March 18, 2012 at 19:27

Phil,

The Regulations for hosepipe bans are covered by Section 76 of the Water Industries Act 1991. 

Since all water companies are regulated by this Act, South East Water cannot make it's own policy?

Either ways, I thought that newly laid lawn were always exempt for the first 28 days under the current Act? 

So have South East Water actually moved at all?

Look forward to your clarification regarding this matter, or anyone else that can help.


 
Phil Voice said:

Some good news already. South east water have will allow new turf to be watered for 28 days after laying.

http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/pls/apex/f?p=101:536:3208313760754567

Keep up the pressure guys.

Permalink Reply by T & S Plants on March 18, 2012 at 19:51

The reason we ask is that one of our customers, the one that planted Portland, called in on Friday.  We discussed the Hosepipe Ban.

Our customer highlighted to us the 28 day rule, currently in place re-new lawns, which we were unaware of.

So if South East Water have this policy, so must every water company, for they are all regulated by national policy, and an Act of Parliament.  Good news for our industry.
 
T & S Plants said:

Phil,

The Regulations for hosepipe bans are covered by Section 76 of the Water Industries Act 1991. 

Since all water companies are regulated by this Act, South East Water cannot make it's own policy?

Either ways, I thought that newly laid lawn were always exempt for the first 28 days under the current Act? 

So have South East Water actually moved at all?

Look forward to your clarification regarding this matter, or anyone else that can help.


 
Phil Voice said:

Some good news already. South east water have will allow new turf to be watered for 28 days after laying.

http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/pls/apex/f?p=101:536:3208313760754567

Keep up the pressure guys.


Pro DesignerPermalink Reply by Jenny Bloom on March 18, 2012 at 20:55

That's really interesting T&S - I saw no such exemptions on Thames Water's Temporary Use Ban Notice.

With its FAQs on drought (which are hard to find from the main site) there are a couple which relate to this:

My garden is not seeded or turfed; does the ban prohibit me from wa...

  • The Temporary Use Ban means that you cannot water your garden using a hosepipe or sprinkler regardless of whether it has been newly seeded or turfed; however you can continue to water newly sewn seeds and newly laid turf using a watering can/bucket.

    I am a gardener/landscape contractor. Can I use a sprinkler to wate...

    • You are still able to continue to water a garden if you are using a watering can/bucket which has not been filled using a hosepipe; however the ban prevents the watering of private gardens with a hosepipe sprinkler or similar apparatus. This includes watering other people’s private gardens (including landscaped areas).

      The only exemptions printed are:

      Definition of a garden

      A “garden” includes all of the following: a park; gardens open to the public; a lawn; a grass verge; an area of grass used for sport or recreation; an allotment garden, as defined in section 22 of the Allotments Act 1922; any area of an allotment used for non-commercial purposes; and any other green space.

      The following will be exempted from the restriction:

      1. using a hosepipe in a garden or for cleaning walls or windows of domestic premises, paths or patios, a private leisure boat or an artificial outdoor surface, where such use is necessary for health and safety reasons.
      2. watering a garden attached to a domestic dwelling or watering plants on domestic premises using a hosepipe, by people with severe mobility problems who hold a current Blue Badge as issued by their local authority.
      3. using a hosepipe to clean a private motor vehicle, or walls and windows of domestic premises, where this is done as a service to customers in the course of a business.
      4. using a hosepipe to water an area of grass or artificial outdoor surfaces used for sport or recreation, where this is required in connection with a national or international sports event.
      5. drip or trickle irrigation watering systems, fitted with a pressure reducing valve and a timer, that are not handheld, that place water drip by drip directly onto the soil surface or beneath the soil surface, without any surface run off or dispersion of water through the air using a jet or mist.


Pro DesignerPermalink Reply by Jenny Bloom on March 19, 2012 at 11:10

According to Water UK  "Each local water company can decide whether certain activities are exempt from the Temporary Use Ban. The company does this by carefully considering the local water resource situation, and then working with householders and businesses in the community to save water with the minimum of inconvenience."

The seven companies that have issues a Temporary Use Ban notice are:

Thames Water

Anglian Water

South East Water

Southern Water

Veolia Water Central 

Veolia Water South East

Sutton and East Surrey Water




T & S Plants said:

Phil,

The Regulations for hosepipe bans are covered by Section 76 of the Water Industries Act 1991. 

Since all water companies are regulated by this Act, South East Water cannot make it's own policy?

Either ways, I thought that newly laid lawn were always exempt for the first 28 days under the current Act? 

So have South East Water actually moved at all?

Look forward to your clarification regarding this matter, or anyone else that can help.


 
Phil Voice said:

Some good news already. South east water have will allow new turf to be watered for 28 days after laying.

http://www.southeastwater.co.uk/pls/apex/f?p=101:536:3208313760754567

Keep up the pressure guys.


Pro DesignerPermalink Reply by Caro Sanders on March 19, 2012 at 12:59

Hi - congratulations on getting this initiative moving, Jenny!  Have written to Thames Water and have forwarded your email to SGD head office too, suggesting it's emailed out to all members, at the least those in the affected regions. Thames have the "drip or trickle irrigation system" exemption but as others have commented elsewhere, this is not really going to assist turf laying in any way. There doesn't seem to be any exemption in their Temporary Use Ban Notice with regard to lawns at all.    

The "drip or trickle system" clearly doesn't help either with initial watering in of new plants.  Obviously we can endlessly cart watering cans backwards and forwards when we first plant up, but are our clients really going to carry on with this process when we've left them to continue to care for their new gardens?

The real problem though is the perception in the mind of the general public that they can't water plants at all - or if they can, it's just going to be a big hassle - so they think there's no point in commissioning new planting schemes and possibly even new garden designs for the time being; at least if we could reassure them that they have a reasonable period of grace to get their plants established, say 6 weeks to water using a hose, we'd have a much better chance of ensuring that planting/designing and all related activities could continue, and that the plants themselves could flourish. 

So keep up the pressure on the water companies! 


Pro DesignerPermalink Reply by Jenny Bloom on March 19, 2012 at 13:28

Thanks Caro in forwarding it to the SGD - already had an email sent out from Sean Butler (East Anglian region) to members about it this morning.

If any LJN members in south east belong to any other professional bodies such as BALI or APL, perhaps they could do something similar? The deadline is 21 March.

Phil has today sent out a letter from LJN to all the seven water companies.


Caro Sanders said:

Hi - congratulations on getting this initiative moving, Jenny!  Have written to Thames Water and have forwarded your email to SGD head office too, suggesting it's emailed out to all members, at the least those in the affected regions. Thames have the "drip or trickle irrigation system" exemption but as others have commented elsewhere, this is not really going to assist turf laying in any way. There doesn't seem to be any exemption in their Temporary Use Ban Notice with regard to lawns at all.    

The "drip or trickle system" clearly doesn't help either with initial watering in of new plants.  Obviously we can endlessly cart watering cans backwards and forwards when we first plant up, but are our clients really going to carry on with this process when we've left them to continue to care for their new gardens?

The real problem though is the perception in the mind of the general public that they can't water plants at all - or if they can, it's just going to be a big hassle - so they think there's no point in commissioning new planting schemes and possibly even new garden designs for the time being; at least if we could reassure them that they have a reasonable period of grace to get their plants established, say 6 weeks to water using a hose, we'd have a much better chance of ensuring that planting/designing and all related activities could continue, and that the plants themselves could flourish. 

So keep up the pressure on the water companies! 


Pro DesignerPermalink Reply by Jenny Bloom on March 19, 2012 at 14:52

For those who haven't yet written yet to the water companies in the south east to appeal for an exemption on the Temporary Use Ban notice for newly installed gardens, here are some email addresses. Appeals need to be submitted before 21 March. 

consultations@thameswater.co.uk

haveyoursay@anglianwater.co.uk

droughtrepresentations@veoliawater.co.uk

representations@waterplc.com (Sutton & East Surrey Water)

Southern Water - could try their contact page as I have not been able to find specific email address for representations


Pro DesignerPermalink Reply by Marie-Plews Garden Design on March 19, 2012 at 15:49

hi all

excellent idea - lots of voices saying the same thing make a lot of noise...thanks Phil for the email ;-]

have emailed Thames water & cc to MP (who's usually good at replying to things)

it is already affecting our projects as we cant guarantee anything to our clients

Marie


PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Phil Voice on March 19, 2012 at 18:05

Thanks everyone for working so swiftly on this....I'm sure we are doing some good.

Wessex Water contacted me today to say that they are not planning any water restrictions in the coming months.

I've also been in contact with journalists today to help spread the word further.

If anyone has a contact in mainstream media (The Times, Guardian, Independent etc) then please do let me know. I will endeavour to send something out to newsrooms tomorrow. 

Thanks to Jenny for working hard on this and to Pip for his work too preparing a  political lobby aimed at government.


PRO MemberPermalink Reply by Phil Voice on March 19, 2012 at 18:50

"Dear Mr Voice

Thank you for your email.

 

We have had many enquiries regarding our position for landscape gardeners and customers who have had newly laid turf since the announcement of the ban.  Due to this we are currently consulting with our customers regarding what exemptions’ should be introduced; we are also talking to other water companies who are introducing a ban to ensure a level of consistency. We will be publishing our list of exceptions on the website shortly. I would urge you to check this regularly for updates.

 

Regards,

Anglian Water Customer Services"

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