Groundworks, Drainage & Civil Engineering Contractors UK

Chichester Retail Park is an up and coming ongoing development situated on Barnfield Drive and SB Civil Engineering have been awarded the contract to complete the Highways and Section 278 works outside the retail site. The contract awarded to us was through PPE Ltd and we will be engaged with West Sussex County Council

SB Civils will be working on many aspects on the public highways including the roundabouts, carriageways, footways and cycleways. We will begin our works in March 2016 with conducting trial holes around the roundabouts before the works commence on the Public Highway. Works will include road widening, new entrances, street lighting and new surfacing to the highways and footpaths. All our works will be within traffic management to ensure safety to all pedestrians and working contractors.

The current development is still expanding with new stores such as Aldi and Wickes. SB Civils are looking forward to working alongside the current contractors to improve and add to this already exciting new retail site.

The ongoing works currently occupying the Chichester Retail Park on Barnfield Drive are to complement the city centre and will encourage more people to visit the site, we are excited to put our stamp as SB Civils on this already fantastic project.

SB Civil Engineering are now fully trained by BIOROCK to install their variety of tanks. BIOROCK and their systems, they are non-electric sewage treatment plants which use a biological process and are gravity fed, requiring no electricity at all. As a result of this, maintenance and operational costs are extremely low, and reliability is maximized.

We now work with BIOROCK to carry out their installations. We have already been awarded a contract and completed our first installation for them, this was for a site in Rickmansworth. We started with carrying out a percolation test which involves a test to determine the absorption rate of soil for a septic drain field or "leach field". The results of a percolation test are required to properly design a septic tank system. We then installed the new BIOROCK tank system to replace the septic tank previously there.

The BIOROCK septic system functions as a three stage treatment system. Initially the raw sewage enters a primary tank to provide separation and the breakdown of organic solids (Primary Treatment). The sewage then passes through an effluent filter before discharging into the BIOROCK unit which incorporates the well proven aerobic digestion process (Secondary Treatment) and filtration process (Tertiary Treatment).

We are currently in the process of securing more tank installation contracts with BIOROCK and look forward to working with them and their products in the near future.

Connecting to Thames Water Utilities sewers can only be done by a Thames Water Utilities approved contractor. SB Civil Engineering is an approved Thames Water Contractor. TWU must inspect the connection to ensure it complies with the Water Industry Act 1991.

You need two pieces of information to be able to get us to quote you for your connection.

The first is the Thames Water (TW) Asset drawing, showing the public sewers in the vicinity, this will provide us with details of the size & depth of the existing sewer, with upstream and downstream manhole locations for over pumping.

Please request the Thames Water asset drawing for your location, from Thames Water Developer Services:

Tel: 0845 8502777

Address: Thames Water, Developer Services, Clearwater Court, Vastern Road, Reading, RG1 8DB

Email a request direct from the Thames Water Utilities website here: https://secure.thameswater.co.uk/dynamic/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/17226.htm

Once you have the Thames Water Asset drawing that relates to your property location (these can be obtained within 24 hours through an express service for about £100 or within about 4 to 5 days normally for about £55) you then need to contact them to request Consent/Notice to Connect. This will be issued to you in the form of a letter. To request this Thames Water Consent to Connect you need to:

Go to the following web address and complete the form.

http://secure.thameswater.co.uk/dynamic/cps/rde/xchg/corp/hs.xsl/11214.htm The information that you will need to complete this includes the following:
•Your full name, contact number and email address.
•The address of the property to be connected to the sewer.
•Payment details for the type of connection needed.
•A copy of detailed plans, including site location plan indicating:
•The location / point of connection (connection points should be labelled individually)
•Size of proposed connection
•Size of sewer
•Level of connection

A Thames Water engineer will technically assess your application to discharge to the TWU network and advise you on whether it has been approved or refused. On approval please send both the Thames Water Asset Drawing and the Thames Water letter for the Consent/Notice to Connect to SB Civil Engineering by email to: [email protected] or in hard copy to:
SB Civil Engineering Limited, G29 Allen House, The Maltings, Station Road, Sawbridgeworth, Herts, CM21 9JX.



We can then assess the physical work involved to make the connection, this usually includes a site survey, size of site gang/workforce, equipment and materials needed plus any involvement with the local highway department as to whether there is any significant impact on the public road network, i.e any parking bays/roads that may need to be closed or suspended.

Call SB Civils for a low cost quote for your Thames Water sewer connection / Sewer works 01279 276030.

Few steps to getting your sewer connected to be aware of!!

You will need to make contact with Thames Water to get a consent to connect letter as this allows them to look at the layout and determine which connection if any you can have. This is also very important for the contractor you hire as they cannot begin to price the works for you until they receive this letter as this tells them what type of connection they will be making so In turn determines other costs like labour, plant and materials needed. It would also be good to mention the time it can take for you to receive the letter so be organised and do this as early as you can to get the wheels in motion for your project.

Another document you will need before any contractors will be able to quote your works is an Asset Search which you can also get from Thames Water but some contractors including ourselves can obtain this for you for a small fee. An Asset Search is a plan of the site you are proposing works on with the layout of the sewers and manholes so Thames Water, you and the contractor can all see where the main sewers are and where the connection can be made if there even is one! This again can be time consuming so make sure you apply for this as early as you can.

You would to look for a contactor who is approved with the Highways Council as well as the relevant water company for your project.

The best way to achieve a quicker turn around for your works to begin would be to obtain the above documents before you contact any contractors as you can then send the letter and asset search straight across and the contractors will have all the information they require to build a quote for you. Also finding a company you want to complete your project can be a time consuming task, but you can always ask Thames Water for a list of their approved contractors (like SB Civils) and then use the magic of Google to search through for your perfect company.

You also need to be aware of having the correct fall from site drainage – All above ground and below ground horizontal drainage pipes should be laid to an adequate gradient. Gradients from 1 in 40 to 1 in 110 will normally give adequate flow velocities. A gradient of 1 in 80 is suitable for commencing calculations for pipe schemes. If a gradient is too steep i.e. steeper than 1 in 40, the liquid may run faster than the solids in the sloping foul water pipe thus leaving the solids stranded, which could then block the pipe. If the gradient is not steep enough, i.e. less than 1 in 110, then the pipe could still block if the solids slow down and become stranded. The fall in a pipe may be defined as the vertical amount by which the pipe drops over a distance. The distance can be between sections of pipe or between manholes. The diagram below show pipe fall and distance.

If you follow these few a steps you should have a smooth run through to getting your project on its way – but I would like to give you a few examples how getting your se

House extensions, new domestic builds, development of a commercial property these are some examples of where you may need a new sewer connection installed.

If you have a new property and mains drainage (foul or storm water) is available then it is likely that you will require a sewer connection. As most sewers are in the public highway any excavation will come under The New Roads and Street Works Act 1991. This is better known as a Section 50 form which we as your chosen contractor we can apply for through the council and provide all the relevant documentation relieving you of added stress.

Contact the Sewerage Undertaker in your area and apply for your consent to connect letter (permission to connect to the sewer and what connection you need) and also Asset Searches (plan of the site, where the main sewer is and location of manholes).

Below I have listed the necessary documents required for a sewer connection and luckily we can obtain all these on your behalf:
• Highway Licences for; •Road opening permits.
•Section 50 licences.
•Road closure permits.
•Completed works certificates.

•Method statement and risk assessments specific to the task.
•Traffic management including diversion plans.

We offer options of construction work which other contractors may not which gives us the best opportunity to take on any task.
•Construction work, including; •Open cut traditional method.
•Timbered heading trenchless tunnelling.


Make sure you have your consent to connect letter and asset search drawings, these are key to the installation of a sewer connection and will be requested of you by any contractor you enquire to.

When you need to apply to The Sewerage Undertaker for a Sewer Connection – What you need?

If you are currently in the process or planning on works on residential, commercial or industrial buildings you made need to be aware of the sewers and if you require a connection to be made, this especially occurs on new builds.

There are two connection types –

Direct Sewer Connection – A connection made directly to the public sewer by physically breaking into the pipe/manhole or by constructing a new manhole on the public sewer. – More likely!

Indirect Sewer Connection – A connection made to an existing private drain/sewer that is already connected to the public sewer.

To find out what connection you will be required to have you need to contact the Sewerage Undertaker – this is the Water Company responsible for providing a sewerage service within your area.

The Main two are –

Anglian Water or Thames Water.

These can also provide all the necessary documentation you need for the contractors you are planning or looking into hiring.

These consist of your consent to connect letter, this allows you to determine which connection you are required to have and if you have permission to connect to it. Then you will also need an Asset Search drawing which shows you the sewer mains and manhole locations. This is more for the contractors to locate where they need to dig and connect the new pipe.

This is important to remember as retrieving these documents can be time consuming so to apply for them as early as possible would be the best thing to do.