Town urged to unite as fears rise over flood risk from new housing

TRADERS AND residents in the Yorkshire Dales have been urged to unite after fears were raised that a planned housing estate on farmland could cause a repeat of “the worst flooding in recent memory”.

Leyburn Town Council is urging residents and traders to voice their views at a virtual extraordinary meeting on Thursday over Yorvik Homes’ proposal to build 103 houses and 24 bungalows at Hill Top Farm, Moor Road.

The town was swamped in July last year when flash flooding affected large parts of the Yorkshire Dales after a month’s rain fell in just four hours.

The authority said the meeting would help shape its recommendation to Richmondshire District Council over the scheme, and follows residents voicing frustration over the consultation period for the controversial development taking place during the coronavirus lockdown.

A town council spokesman said it had requested a representative from Yorvik Homes to attend the meeting, but the developer had not confirmed it would be available to answer questions.

In papers lodged with the planning application, Yorvik Homes said Yorkshire Water had confirmed there are no surface water sewers available for downpours to drain away.

It added that the site’s conditions are “very variable” and diverting surface water from the development to Whipperdale Beck was the best way to manage it, alongside storage tanks.

In addition, a flood risk assessment commissioned by the firm states the site is entirely within what the Environment Agency considered to be the lowest risk area for flooding.

The study concludes the development will not add any flows to

Resident Andrew Culf on the proposed housing estate. the historical culvert system in Leyburn town centre or affect local flooding to the east of the site.

The proposals, lodged just eight months after Leyburn and the surrounding area were inundated and even the town’s fire station was flooded following a torrential downpour, have already generated objections, as residents claimed building on the greenfield site would exacerbate drainage issues.

In an objection submitted to the district council, resident Derek Riley said “the increased risk of flooding” had been a major worry when plans for the estate were revealed in 2018, but Leyburn had since “suffered its worst flooding in recent memory”.

Another resident, Andrew Culf, said the proposed site was the source of large volumes of water cascading down Moor Road and through Thornborough Gardens during the July 2019 storm, causing serious flooding in the centre of Leyburn.

He said the proposed storage capacity would be inadequate to cope with extreme weather, and the scheme also “threatens to change the character of Leyburn”.

The scheme threatens to change the character of Leyburn.