The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) has ordered Scottish Water to assess the impact of the construction of a pumping station on relevant property values and compensate residents for any loss of value – the first time the SPSO has made a recommendation of this nature.

The decision follows the Ombudsman’s investigation into what it describes as “a long-running saga” about a pumping station built near houses, the construction of which caused concern to local residents and significant disruption over almost a decade. Some homes were also damaged during the construction phase.

The Ombudsman was  dealing with a complaint concerning a pumping station built by Scottish Water within the vicinity of the complainant (Mr C) and his neighbours' properties. 

The station was much larger than the existing facility and discharged the sewage differently, with the aim of reducing discharge levels. There was a lot of work involved in building the new station, and strong local objections were raised during the planning process. Construction began in 2006. There was significant disruption and damage during the building work, and after the station began operating there was further disruption due to repeated pump failures.

Mr C said that during the public consultation carried out prior to commencing the project Scottish Water had provided assurances that following completion of the construction phase of the project, residents would experience no further disruption. He complained that residents had in fact suffered continuous disruption over a period of nine years. This had caused residents distress and inconvenience and had resulted in documented structural damage to some properties. 

Mr C said residents continued to experience noise and vibration from the pumping station and he complained that Scottish Water's actions had blighted the value of residents' properties, depriving them of a significant financial asset. He said his view was that the only permanent solution for residents was to relocate the pumping station.

Specific complaints and conclusions

The complaints investigated by the Ombudsman are that Scottish Water:

• unreasonably allowed vibration to continue to damage Mr C's and Mr C's neighbours' properties, without taking appropriate action over the past nine years (upheld);
• unreasonably failed to provide a permanent solution to the problem with the pumping station over the past nine years; and (upheld);
• unreasonably failed to give an end date for giving up and moving the pumping station to an alternative location (not upheld).

The Ombudsman has recommended that Scottish Water takes a number of actions to resolve the issue, including:

• provide full annual structural surveys of all properties which form part of this complaint, for the next five years, ensuring that the surveyor engaged has sufficient expertise to identify structural problems caused by vibration;
• implement in full any structural works identified by these surveys as resulting from the operation of the pumping station:
• engage the District Valuer to assess the impact of the physical and reputational damage caused by  the pumping station on the value of properties that form part of this complaint;
• where a reduction in value is identified, given the unique circumstances of the project, Scottish Water offer compensation to the full amount of any reduction in value;
• offer to recompense the residents who have incurred fees whilst unsuccessfully attempting to sell their property between 2008 and 2014;
• monitor the performance, noise and vibration levels produced by the pumping station for the next 12 months, producing a monthly assessment, which should be provided to residents if requested;
• the cumulative performance in terms of noise and vibration should be assessed after six and 12 months respectively; and
• should either of these assessments show either extended incidents (one week or more) of noise and vibration, or repeated short incidents (more than one incident lasting ten minutes per day), then Scottish Water must inform the appropriate Minister for consideration of other viable options.

The Ombudsman has also specified that the steps that Scottish Water should take only apply where a resident wishes it.

Scottish Water: "significant customer impact to be expected in construction phase"

Commenting on the investigation, the Ombudsman explained that Scottish Water said that they accepted there was significant customer impact during the construction phase, which was to be expected with a project like this, and had fixed damage caused at that time. They did not, however, believe that there was a link between these earlier issues and the later issues. Since the station was put into operation, they had commissioned various reports into its operation and issues of vibration because of the complaints received. They were of the view that they had taken action where appropriate.

The issue was first brought to the Ombudsman’s attention a number of years ago - SPSO involvement with it then was ended on the understanding that Scottish Water had an action plan in place that would resolve the outstanding complaints. The Ombudsman said in this new report:

“However, the complaint was brought to me again as residents say the station is still not working in the way that they say they were told it would. During my investigation, I saw no evidence that Scottish Water have fully addressed residents’ ongoing concerns about vibration and structural damage, or that they have assessed the possible impact on the value of properties. I am of the view that they should have done so, particularly in view of the initial assurances they gave.”

In line with SPSO practice, the Ombudsman will follow up with the organisations to ensure that they implement the actions to which they have agreed.

Scottish Water to take lessons learned into wider investment programme

Commenting on the report, Peter Farrer, Chief Operating Officer, Scottish Water, said:

 “We have received this report by the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and are already taking a number of steps to carry out the recommendations. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to these customers for the distress and inconvenience they have suffered as a result of this pumping station issue."

 “The pumping station is now working as it should be and we have introduced new procedures to ensure any issues are responded to, and dealt with quickly.

 “The pumping station is designed to take waste water away from the busy main beach location and ensure the coastal waters are clean and safe.

 “The problems associated with this pumping station and its effects on a number of our customers in the area should have been identified and dealt with much earlier. We apologise for this delay. This was the result of a number of complex and unusual issues at this pumping station which is part of the area’s vital waste water network.

 “We are taking the lessons learned at this location into our wider investment programme to ensure a similar problem does not arise in the future. We would hope to start rebuilding the customers’ trust in us as we carry out monitoring and management of this pumping station in the future.”

Click here to read the Ombudsman's report in full.