OBJECTOR SPEECH
9th January 2014 BRETFORTON W/13/01789/OU
Madam Chairman, members of the Planning Committee This proposed development site fails to meet Government Building Regulations for
drainage, which are legally binding.
The high water table on this land has caused the site to flood 3 times in the last 6.5
years. Government Building Regulations clearly state that the water table must not
reach the BOTTOM of the proposed soakaways AT ANY TIME. This implies that the
water table must be at least 2.5 metres below the surface AT ALL TIMES. This site
clearly fails the Government requirement.
The developer of this potential site is a relatively new company. Their action of
manipulating the Building Regulations submission data may invalidate their PI
insurance and they may not have the financial assets to meet potential multi million
pound claims, hence the Council will be liable.
The Flood and Water Management Act 2010, DEFRA reports and recent
Government ministerial statements emphasise that the prime responsibility for
Councils and their planners is to ensure new housing developments do not increase
existing flood risk under any circumstances. This proposal fails this requirement,
and is thus clearly unsound..
The six houses in Fallon Lane are sandwiched between two potentially illegal
developments are at high risk of flooding. The site currently under construction (at
the rear of Fallon Lane) is flooded, appears to be out of control and is threatening
properties adjoining the site. This application (in front of Fallon Lane houses)
completes the sandwich and the site is already partially flooded again today at the
Northern corner of the field.
There are many procedural issues that must be resolved before this application can
be properly considered by the Planning Committee. Issues involving Environment
Agency investigations of the 2012/2013 flooding of the site and the Zone 1
classification of the site must be completed and are critical precursors to a
meaningful Planning Application.
We strongly request that you reject or defer this application until professional
assessments of the technical, procedural and legal issues are completed and fully
analysed. In particular, the outcome of the current flooding catastrophe on the sister
site needs to be resolved before the application proceeds any further. We
understand that Severn Trent Water are investigating a potential violation of legal
regulations if the developer has pumped excess site water into the sewerage
system.
Whilst we have concentrated on the flooding issues, this has been done in
conjunction with the Parish Council and District Councillor and we fully support their
objections.
Margaret M Dodds