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Churches, Charities and Clubs – fighting for fair charging by water companies |
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info@dontdrainus.orgHotline 0709 2847134 |
What the DontDrainUs.org campaign is working towards1. A review by the Government of the charging mechanism with serious consideration given to regulations that would introduce a charity band or the return to rateable value charging for churches, clubs and charities. 2. An investigation into why Ofwat ignored government guidelines and encouraged water companies to charge churches, clubs and charities as commercial enterprises. We need your help to win this campaign. Please to the following-
1. Sign the Downing Street petition here 2. Contact your MP (Find your MP here). 3. Leave a message on our Blog 4. Register on our forum for news updates 5. Download a poster and stick one up Keep checking back for news, posters and support Ways of reducing chargesSurface water charges can be reduced by adopting sustainable drainage systems or soakaways. These are to be encouraged given the Church’s commitment to the environment. Nevertheless, they are not a panacea and even where they are in principle possible, up front investment costs for either can be large if not prohibitive. Rainwater can be harvested into above- or below-ground storage tanks for use in irrigation and, if filtered and treated, used for flushing WCs and wash basins. The amount of water stored is based on roof area and the demand for water supply. For churches, with relatively large roof areas but small water use, only a small proportion of rainwater is likely to be collected meaning that drains or soakaways would still be required. (For example, 1” of rain on the roof of a medium-sized church would produce enough water to flush a WC around 1,000 times.) Installation costs for a sustainable drainage system can be £10,000 or higher, plus archaeological costs. Payback times are dependent on how much water supply can be offset, but in most cases would take very many years before the capital costs are recouped, if ever. A more viable solution for some churches is to drain water to soakaways, as already occurs in many historic churches. An average-sized church needs 6 soakaways, at a cost of £5-7,000 (plus any archaeological costs). Reinstating old soakaways can cost around £2,000. It should be noted that the Government permits businesses to set the cost of installing approved sustainable drainage systems against corporation tax, in effect providing a subsidy. This is not possible for most churches, small charities or voluntary groups. The contribution towards highways drainage cannot be mitigated by adopting sustainable drainage systems or soakaways. For example, United Utilities has stated that any church which is a water customer (i.e. which uses either water supply or drainage services) will be liable for highways drainage charges on the basis of site area. This also means that churches which are not currently water customers but which seek to provide community facilities such as a new kitchen or WC (or simply a stand-pipe in the churchyard) requiring a water supply, could become liable for the highways charge. |