It is clear to us that the flooding models are no longer adequate
BUILDING in Flood Plains
With regard to recent serious flooding events in the Soar Valley, CPRE Leicestershire & Charnwood District considers it important to highlight that allowing major developments within or immediately adjacent to flood plains has been a significant contributory factor, exacerbating the consequences of severe weather due to climate change.
The loss of swathes of countryside to soak up excess rainfall together with poor management of clearing culverts and drains results in watercourses becoming overloaded and accordingly CPRE registered its objection to allowing further building in flood plains in their response to the Draft Charnwood Local Plan Consultation.
It is clear that Environment Agency flooding models which guide planners and developers regarding appropriate sites, conditions and constraints are no longer adequate.
No amount of computer modelling can deny the actual evidence of recent months including the example of Farley Way in Quorn, which has twice been rendered impassable since October 2019.
The Farley Way closures coincide with the recent completion of the Bellway and adjoining housing developments and whilst the consequences were less serious than elsewhere, they serve to illustrate our concern.
Although CPRE Charnwood’s objection to the Bellway Development planning application mentioned flood risk, the applicant’s risk assessment argued that suitable mitigation measures would be adequate.
However, the Environment Agency responded with conditions, one of which required that the development should ‘accommodate surface water run off up to the critical 1 in 100 year event plus an appropriate allowance for climate change’. Clearly this condition has not been satisfied and the threat to adjoining developments is likely to increase given that severe weather is predicted to become a regular event.
Although there had been occasional flooding episodes on Farley Way, since its construction in the 1970s none had rendered the road impassable prior to construction of the new estate.
Throughout the borough we suspect that there have been many other instances of flooding beyond the norm which may be attributed in large measure to recent building activity in the flood plain and are not solely a function of climate change.
In our view the issue is to manage the implications of climate change by building in ‘safe’ locations, at the same time reviewing the projections for housing need, mindful that Government targets far exceed estimates published by The Office of National Statistics.
Rick Hoyland, Tony Stott Joyce Noon On behalf of CPRE Leicestershire & Charnwood District CPRE Group