Appeals process

How to appeal against the chargeable area allocated to your site

If you would like to appeal against the chargeable area for your site, please contact the Property Management team and we will send you;

• An application form to apply for an allowance against the chargeable area for your site.
• An Ordnance Survey plan which shows the general area of your site.

We can email these documents to you so please let us know how you would like to receive them.

On the application form you will be asked to provide us with information on;

• Where the foul water (water that is used at the site) discharges to.
• Where surface water that falls on the site discharges to.

You also need to clearly mark on the Ordnance Survey plan;

• The site boundary.
• The area of the site that is hardstanding (buildings, car parks etc).
• The area of the site that is permeable (grass, gravel, unmade land etc).
• Any hardstanding area that does not drain to sewer.
• Any communal areas that drain to our sewerage system that are shared with others i.e. car parks etc.

All of the above information must be completed and returned to us at the address below. We may need to contact you to discuss your application or arrange for one of our representatives to meet you on site to discuss the changes in further detail, therefore, please ensure that you complete all relevant information. If you are unsure on any of the questions, please contact the Property Management team for assistance.

Please note that each of the fifteen charging bands covers a range of chargeable area, therefore the exclusion of some of your site from the chargeable area may not affect the charging band to which your site has been allocated.

Estimated measurement

If you have a shared site or building with others, it may not have been possible for us to determine the actual area of your site, therefore, we have measured the total footprint of the site or building and divided the total area using the business rate for each property as a proxy to estimate the size of each property in relation to all others.

In such instances, we will only be able to evaluate the chargeable area for your site upon receipt of information in relation to the measurements for all of the separately rated properties that are located at the site or building. This information can usually be obtained from the owner or managing agent responsible for the site. Once received, we will re-calculate the chargeable areas accordingly.

You can write to us at:

Northumbrian Water Ltd
PO Box 407
Durham
DH1 9WW

Or alternatively contact us online.

Following receipt of your completed application form, and where a site visit is required the Property Management team will normally respond to you within 30 days.