FOSSE SURVEY BEFORE CU GRANTED?

[scotslassie]

I recently bought a barn with CU.  It was granted a while ago and renewed for an extra year at the time of purchasing.  I realise it is a little late to check this out but I was told that to get CU agreed it must be possible to get the fosse installed, therefore tests/survey had been done already for this.  Assuming this is true who would have the documents?  My basic french managed to get the mairee to give me the address to post my permis construire to and when I asked if I needed papers for fosse she just wafted her hands and shook her head.  I have heard that very small villages can be less strick on paperwork but we had hoped to do the fosse ourselves and dont want to get into bother.  Any advice appreciated.  If we cant get a fosse we only have the earth toilet option - lovely! but what about waste water?

[Nick Trollope]

No, a CU simply comfirms that the barn can be converted into a dwelling, within the zoning rules. It is unlikely that an application for a fosse would be done before (or at the same time as) a CU application was made. If the paperwork existed, it would have been given to you when you bought the place.

You now need to apply for planning permission for the complete conversion, including a sewage system (they won't even consider an application without a fosse being included), ideally before the current CU expires (they won't renew it and may decide to change the zoning on the property). It is worth getting the soil test done before you apply, so that you/your architect can establish what sort of fosse you can use.

If the finished property will be over 170MsQ, then don't forget the requirement for a architect to be allowed to rip you off/be used.

You can do the fosse yourselves, but it must still conform to the normes and be inspected by SPANC (who must be the most entertaining  all the French acronyms). It isn't down to your village to decide anything where fosses are concerned....

AFAIK, no composting toilet will pass muster, so be aware that if (for whatever reason) you can't/won't get an approved sewage system, you won't get permission to convert, or even live in, your barn.

[Me0wp00]

we're finalising our barn purchase tomorrow, it had a CU but for that it doesnt need any fosse checks,  I completed my PDC paperwork and our architect stamped it, we didn't need to have the fosse survey done for it but had to have marked on the plan where we planned for the Fosse and sand filter to go, The mairie also made sure we had applied for the survey but we had our pdc rushed through in a month and so haven't had time for the survey yet which will now be sometime next week, we're also planning on installing the fosse ourselves.

hth

[scotslassie]

Thank you for your replies.  I was definitely told differently by the agent, surprise, surprise!!  If I get in touch with the mairee will she have the contact details for a fosse survey or is it a number/address I can find from the uk?  Everything takes so long from a distance and with the translating issues.  My barn is near St Amand Montrond, Auvergne (about 35 mins north of Montlucon).  I havent filled in the PDC forms yet but as it is small I do not require an architect.  Can I put in plans for a fosse and then change it if the survey needs something different? Do you know if the regs in uk re septics tanks, depths, distances etc are the same?  There are tanks here in UK which do not require the soakaway pit and although more expensive, take up less room and require less excavation work.  How much does the survey cost roughly?  Also, although no-one else I have spoken to has heard of this, it was suggested to me that the plastic tank went in the huge cellar under the barn instead of the garden.  Anyone ever done this?  Just because its not the norm, does it mean that its against regulations or just not normal practice?!  Sorry, lots of questions.  Thanks, Lesley

[Nick Trollope]

By far your best bet is to get a quote (or 3) from a fosse company. That way you will get something designed that will match your needs. Of course, you are under no obligation to accept the quote, and can be done remotely......

The SPANC survey is done during and after the installation. The soil test is done by others (or you can do it yourself!), the design (especially of something out of the ordinary) is best left to experts.

I've no idea of UK regs, but most building regs here are completely different from the UK.

[scotslassie]

Thank you Nick.  Exactly what I needed to know.  Friends here in UK are drainage contractors and do this all the time which is why I asked about the regs comparison and what has to be done by whom.  They have just the hotel I work at (£50,000 job) and the putting tank in the basement was a suggestion of someone from France which our pals had never heard of being done.  They unfortunately cannot travel from Scotland to central France to do a freebie......so a few quotes it is then we have something on paper .  Thanks for all the posts.  This fosse thing is a nightmare!

[ausibattler]

Ah you city folk-- have no idea how we country lads get by!!!

Good luck.

[scotslassie]

Well thank you, Ausib. W need all the luck we can get, but I must add that rural Perthshire is hardly city!! The uk hotel I mentioned that had a new septic system done recently is a 4star country hotel built in the 1830s and was in dire need of new system!!  Not a posh new city centre place with no character! Sewage on the lawn for the past few years - luckily not spotted by residents or dinner guests. The tank alone was £22k !  Anyway, sorry to sound like a townie - it couldnt be further from the truth.  Merely trying to avoid being in trouble with the relevant authorities.  It would be much easier if the mairie didnt live opposite us and we werent the new centre of attention for the locals to gossip about!  Believe me, everything we do will be noticed!