Drainage Law Policy in Respect of Private Developments

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A decision made (13/06/2008) regarding the Drainage Law Police in respect of Private Developments.

Decision Reference: MD-T-2008-0051
Decision Summary Title :	Drainage Law Policy In Respect of Private Developments		Date of Decision Summary:	5th June 2008
Decision Summary Author:	Steve Fisher Manager, Engineering Design and Technical Records		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Drainage Law Policy in Respect of Private Developments		Date of Written Report:	5th June 2008
Written Report Author:	Steve Fisher Manager, Engineering Design and Technical Records		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Drainage Law Policy in Respect of Private Developments
Decision(s): The Minister rescinded MD-T-2007-0092 and re-confirmed the previous policy of not using the Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005 to serve notice on third party landowners for the benefit of private developers, to enable developers to lay sewers across third party land.
Reason(s) for Decision: A debate in the States on a Proposition that essentially requested that this policy be maintained was supported by a majority of States Members.
Resource Implications: No resource implications.
Action required: Manager, Engineering Design and Technical Records to write to the developer directly affected by this re-confirmation of Policy confirming that the previous policy has now been maintained by the Minister and that the Department will not serve Notice on adjacent land owners for the benefit of the developer in question.
Signature:		Position:
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Drainage Law Policy in Respect of Private Developments

TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES

DRAINAGE LAW POLICY IN RESEPCT OF PRIVATE DEVELOPMENTS

Purpose of the Report

To re-confirm a departmental policy in respect of serving a legal Notice under the Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005 on behalf of a private developer or individual.

Background

In November 2007, the Minister made a Ministerial Decision, MD–T-2007-0092, to vary the policy on using the Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005 to serve Notice on third party landowners for the benefit of developers and private individuals.

The new policy would have allowed the serving of Notice to be considered if a Public gain could be demonstrated, namely, if the developer or individual was willing and able to connect additional surrounding properties to the public foul sewer network at his own expense. Under the previous policy, such requests by a developer or individual to serve Notice in this way would not have been entertained.

The Ministerial Decision prompted Senator Ben Shenton to take a Report and Proposition to the States requesting the Minister for Transport and Technical Services to rescind the decision.

Discussion

The States debate on the proposition was held on 3 June 2008, and the proposition was supported by a large majority of States Members.

Given the result of the debate, it is believed that it is now appropriate to re-confirm the original policy on the use of the Drainage Law on behalf of developers or private individuals. In essence, the Minister will not use his powers under the Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005 to serve notice on third party land owners for the benefit of developers or private individuals.

Conclusion

A Proposition was debated in the States on 3 June 2008 which asked the Minister for Transport and Technical Services to rescind a Ministerial Decision made in November 2007.

The Ministerial Decision, MD-T-2007-0092, would have permitted the use of the Drainage (Jersey) Law 2005 for the benefit of developers or private individuals to be considered if a public gain could be demonstrated.

The Proposition was supported by a large majority of States Members.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to reconfirm the previous policy of not using his powers under the Drainage Law (2005) to serve notice on third party land owners for the benefit of developers or private individuals.

Reason(s) for Decision

A debate in the States on a Proposition that essentially requested that this policy be maintained was supported by a majority of States Members.

Action Required

Steve Fisher, Manager, Engineering Design and Technical Records to write to the developer directly affected by this re-confirmation of Policy confirming that the previous policy has now been maintained by the Minister and that the Department will not serve Notice on adjacent land owners for the benefit of the developer in question.

Written by:	S Fisher

Approved by:	J Rogers – Waste Management

Attachments:

None

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5th June 2008

I:\Minister\2008\Ministerial Decisions\MD 00 Drainage Law Policy\DS Drainage Law Policy 080605 SJFdoc.doc