Percolation Tests provides BRE365 soakaway percolation testing and foul infiltration testing across Market Drayton and the surrounding North Shropshire countryside.
We are based in Wolverhampton, about 26 miles away, and Market Drayton is well inside the area we cover as standard. We have carried out 45 tests within fifteen miles of Market Drayton and 137 within twenty-five, so the ground around the town is familiar to us.
Ground conditions in Market Drayton
Market Drayton sits within the North Shropshire lowlands, close to the same glacial Meres and Mosses landscape found near Whitchurch, where slow-draining ground and a naturally high water table are common in places. Given the largely rural, agricultural nature of the surrounding area, private drainage systems are typical, making foul infiltration testing a routine requirement alongside percolation testing.
The older mudstones and sandstones around Market Drayton weather to variable depths, and the amount of superficial cover changes quickly across a plot. Valley floors often carry alluvium and river gravels that behave completely differently from the slopes above them. Sloping sites bring a second consideration: a soakaway has to be positioned so that what it discharges does not resurface further down or affect a neighbouring property, which sometimes matters more than the raw infiltration figure.
What we test for
- BRE365 percolation testing for surface water soakaway design
- Foul effluent infiltration testing (Part H) for septic tanks and treatment plants
- Drainage strategy support for planning submissions
What a BRE365 test involves
The method comes from BRE Digest 365, and it takes longer than most people expect. It is not one hole and a stopwatch.
- Trial pits are dug where the soakaway is proposed and taken below its intended base. How many depends on the size of the site and what the drainage design needs.
- Each pit is filled to at least 75% of its effective storage depth before timing begins.
- Each pit is then filled and timed three separate times, recording how long the water takes to fall from 75% to 25% of the effective storage depth.
- The slowest result is the one used, so the design is based on the worst case rather than a flattering one.
Because every pit is tested three times and has to drain fully in between, a proper test is not an hour’s work. We would rather tell you a site is unsuitable than hand over a figure that will not stand up at planning.
Planning conditions in Market Drayton
Applications in the Market Drayton area are dealt with by Shropshire Council, and drainage conditions are attached routinely — particularly on rural plots, barn conversions and self-builds with no mains surface water connection. The condition normally asks for infiltration testing to BRE365 and a soakaway design based on the result, approved before work starts.
Testing early is worth the trouble. If infiltration turns out not to be viable the drainage strategy has to change, and discovering that after the groundworks are priced is an expensive surprise.
Foul drainage and septic tanks
If the site is not on mains foul drainage that is a separate test. Drainage fields for septic tanks and package treatment plants are sized by the method in BS 6297, referenced by Part H of the Building Regulations, and that figure is not interchangeable with a BRE365 result. Plenty of rural sites around Market Drayton need both, and we can do them on the same visit.
What you receive
- A full report with the recorded times for every pit and every fill
- The calculated infiltration rate, ready to hand to your engineer or planner
- Trial pit locations and depths
- Photographs of the testing on site
- A clear statement of whether a soakaway is viable, and if not, why not
Coverage
We test across Market Drayton and the surrounding rural North Shropshire villages. Available Monday to Friday.
Get a quote
Contact us for a free, no-obligation quote for percolation or infiltration testing anywhere in Market Drayton. Call 01902 475653 or request a quote online.
Percolation testing around Market Drayton
Each dot is a site we have tested. 11 within ten miles of Market Drayton, 110 within twenty-five.
Also serving Shropshire
This page is part of our coverage across Shropshire, which also includes:
Recent work near Market Drayton
