Peopleton Planning Appeal 13/02175
From. Cllr. David Brotheridge Wychavon DC Planning Committee
Sir/Madam
I am a District Councillor representing the residents of Pershore in Worcestershire and a member of the Wychavon District Council planning committee that met on Thursday 27 th
February 2014 to consider application number W/13/02175 ‘The Development of 12 dwelling units, 6 No. affordable homes, 6 No. Market value starter homes to land on Stone
Arrow Farm adjacent to Stonecroft Cottages, Peopleton.’
As a former Peopleton resident with local knowledge of that area, I regarded myself as suitably qualified (by association) to speak on the application at committee, particularly in relation to past flooding events and other related matters in that locale.
My decision not to support the planning officers ‘approval’ recommendation at that meeting was based primarily on historic personal knowledge of wider flooding concerns in
Peopleton including the very personal experience referred to hereafter.
My connections with the village began in 1995 when my wife and I purchased a newly constructed 4 bedroom dwelling forming part of a development of seven homes known as
‘Old Glebe Pastures’ and accessed off Norchard Lane. Unbeknown to us, the development site together with the surrounding area had a long history of pluvial flooding, caused by a combination of water run-off from adjacent pasture land to the south and the impermeable clay subsoil prevalent in that area. We later learnt that an initial application from ‘Cox
Homes’ of Evesham to develop that site had been refused by Wychavon District Councils development control on the recommendation of its drainage engineers and only allowed later on Appeal. Without any knowledge of those drainage concerns, we purchased the property and set up home in the autumn of that year.
Three years later in the spring of 1998 an exceptional weather event saw three days of continuous heavy rain fall over the midlands region resulting in widespread flooding. Old
Glebe Pastures and its surrounding area were badly affected, leaving 34 properties in the southern part of the village flooded to varying depths and in many cases leaving homes uninhabitable. It was 9 months before many homes were fully reinstated and residents were able to return. Not wishing to repeat the upheaval and trauma of that experience we placed our property ‘for sale’ on the open market in the summer of 2000 and moved to
Pershore later that year.
In the summer of 2007 another more severe weather system hit the region and a repeat of the 1998 flooding was seen in Peopleton, only this time more extensive and more prolonged, resulting in over 50 homes to the south of the village being affected including our former home. Once again the lives of a large number of residents were seriously disrupted with some displaced from their homes for extended periods. Previously saturated ground, water run-off from nearby pasture land and impervious soil types were once again seen as the primary causes.
A personal visit to the Old Glebe Pastures site prior to the commencement of development in 1995 had revealed heavy non porous soil types and large areas of standing water, even in warm dry weather, all very similar characteristics to the ‘Stone Arrow Farm’ site area under
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Peopleton Planning Appeal 13/02175
From. Cllr. David Brotheridge Wychavon DC Planning Committee consideration on the 27 th February. Despite assurances from developers that adequate flood mitigation measures had been incorporated into the design, ‘Old Glebe Pastures’ and its surrounding area experienced severe flooding twice between 1995 and the present day.
With regard to the specific application that came before the planning committee on the 27 th
February, ‘Stone Arrow Farm’ is located in the same southerly part of the village as the wider area affected by previous flooding events. My personal experiences as outlined previously together with anecdotal evidence from long standing local residents drew me to the conclusion that this proposed site, also with its long history of surface water problems and impervious soil type would be unsuitable for residential development.
Despite not having been identified and documented as flooding during the two previous major events, it is well recognised locally that any torrential rain run-off from the pasture land located on the opposite side of the road to the east, flows either onto the road and northward towards the village centre or directly across the road, through the application site, before draining into a ditch on the western boundary and eventually ending up to the northwest in the ‘Bow Brook.’ I firmly believed that any disruption or diversion to that long established natural water flow would greatly exacerbate the flooding risk elsewhere in the village.
Furthermore, in the report before us, the Wychavon drainage engineers’ statement acknowledged that the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment identified the proposed site to be at risk of surface water flooding and recommended a suitable site specific Flood Risk
Assessment although I could see no written evidence of a detailed assessment being carried out!
In conclusion, knowing that the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment carried out as part of the evidence base for the emerging South Worcestershire Development Plan has identified the area including the application site as being at risk of surface water flooding, I felt that I could not support the application, especially at a time when we should all be directing new development away from areas of flooding concern. Furthermore, it was my opinion, that the proposals did not accord with NPPF 100 and 101.
David Brotheridge
Wychavon District Councillor
Pershore
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