Savills | AOL

5 / 36

5 Spring / Summer 2019 Aspects of Land
Andrew Pearce treks across the Lut Desert
fixed just by changing part of the system,
for example replacing a soakaway with a
drainage field.
Will it be possible to apply to the EA
for an exemption certificate? It will be
possible to apply and decisions will be
made on a case-by-case basis. However, an
exemption is unlikely to be granted if the
system poses a serious risk of pollution.
How can owners tell if tanks meet
the requirements or not? Treatment
systems installed since 1983 should all
either display a British Standard CE mark,
or the accompanying manual should, or
the system should be included in British
Water’s list of approved equipment.
Owners are advised to carry out a full
survey of septic tanks and small sewage
treatment plants for any properties that
they own or manage. This should record
and catalogue the size, the type and
discharge of each system.
n If you’d like to find out more about the
compliance of your septic tanks and PTPs,
contact Richard Vincent, Peterborough,
01733 559 348,
A NEW MEMBER
FOR THE EXCLUSIVE
EXPLORERS CLUB
He has been to the North
and South Poles, up the
highest peaks in Greenland
and made exploratory
attempts on four volcanoes
in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, and now Andrew
Pearce, a Savills director
in the Lincoln office has
joined the world renowned
Explorers Club based in
New York.
Andrew was nominated
by the British Chapter of
the club for his remarkable
endeavours, as well as for
fundraising and educating
people about the world
of exploration.
This summer, as part of
a team of nine, he trekked
137 miles through the Lut
Desert in Iran – an area that
Nasa has called the “Pole
of Heat” after recording the
hottest land temperature
ever of 70.7°C. The team
completed the trek in
nine days.
“It was a tough encounter,
but also a very rewarding
one as to have the unique
privilege of travelling
through this little known
corner of the world with an
excellent group of like-
minded people was very
special,” said Andrew. “As
we were striking a new route
it was amazing to think that
with every step you took,
no other human had ever
walked across the same path
and that every footprint was
the first to be formed.”
The Explorers Club’s
members include many who
have completed the most
famous exploration firsts:
first to the North Pole, first
to the South Pole, first to
summit Mount Everest, first
to the deepest point of
the ocean and first to the
surface of the moon.
Andrew says one of the
highlights of becoming a
member was the chance
to attend The Explorers
Club’s annual dinner in
New York. “It was a special
event this year toasting and
meeting all the living Apollo
moonwalkers, astronauts
and engineers. It was
undoubtedly a once in
a lifetime experience.”
Is there new legislation around septic
tanks? There hasn’t been any new
legislation since the Environment Agency
(EA) published its minimum standards
requirements in 2015, which are known as
the general binding rules. However, these
rules gave operators until 1 January 2020
to correct certain issues. As this is now
just a matter of months away, it’s worth
making sure you’re compliant.
What do the rules cover? The rules
cover the minimum standards for various
elements including what size of treatment
system is needed, the manner in which
the waste water is discharged to the
ground – which needs to be through a
certified drainage field, not a soakaway –
and the ongoing regular maintenance of
the system.
NEED TO
KNOW
ARE YOU SEPTIC TANK READY?
with Richard Vincent, Savills
Building Surveying
If systems don’t meet the requirements,
will they have to be changed? That will
vary from case to case. The most polluting
offences, such as a septic tank that
currently discharges into a watercourse,
will have to be remedied by the 2020
deadline; for example replaced with a
packaged treatment plant (PTP) that
cleans the water before it is discharged.
However, other issues might be able to be
ACHIEVEMENT
MEDIAWORLDIMAGES / ALAMY, NEIL MCALLISTER / ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK, iSTOCK
Septic tanks must not empty into waterways
The Hampshire-based farming
business Hectare that created the
website SellMyLivestock has now
introduced a matchmaking app called
Tudder, to help farmers find breeding
partners for their livestock. The app
features profiles of animals from
42,000 farms across the UK and users
can swipe right for yes and left for
no in the search for a perfect match.
TUDDER – TINDER FOR COWS £245m
Dairy co-operative Arla Foods made £245 million profit
in 2018 that it shared out among its 2,400 European
farmer owners. British owners received £64 million of
this total. Each farmer received a bonus of 2p per litre for
the milk they delivered to the co-operative last year. Arla
Foods is the UK’s largest farmer-owned dairy company.