Agenda item

Submission of details required by condition 11 (Surface water drainage) of outline planning permission S/2553/16/OL

By affirmation, the Committee voted to Defer the recommendation, subject to:

1.    receipt of the outstanding information in respect of remedial measures particularly in respect of works along the western site boundary and of the report of the Lead Local Flood Authority under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010;

2.    confirmation of details of ownership of a strip of land across which permission for flow of foul water had been granted by South Cambridgeshire District Council in outline permission, to establish whether a right to maintain it could be granted to the applicant in perpetuity;A site visit to enable inspection to support the Committee in forming a view when considering a proposed updated surface water drainage scheme and flood mitigation measures.

The Joint Head of Planning and Economic Development presented the report, referring to the flooding event which had taken place in July 2021. He took Members through the content of the report, setting out the various elements of the surface water proposals enable the capture, routing, containment and holding of surface water from rainfall and overland flows onto the site and through drains and permeable paving areas to an infiltration basin. He referred to the existing history of water flowing across the site and the fact that the site was currently under construction.  The Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) had engaged consultants to conduct a peer review of the proposals which had concluded the proposals in the application were acceptable. Representations including photographs of the flooding event had been received from the Parish Council, residents and the MP expressing concern that the LLFA had not yet published its Section 19 report into the event and that in the event that a flood were to exceed the capacity of the basin, the application did not take account of residents’ experience that the water flowed westwards. The Planning Authority recognised that an earlier iteration of the submission had shown an exceedance route from the site – but that the current submission, considered acceptable by the LLFA, did not show any off-site exceedance route.  The application included a proposal for a post-completion testing regime. The MP and residents had requested deferral. Officers had been advised by the flooding authority and their consultants that they were satisfied that the proposals met their requirements. However, the LLFA had not yet shared its reports of the flood event with the Planning Authority.

In response to the Chair’s question as to whether the officer recommendation was still as stated in the report, that the Committee accept the stated surface water drainage details but not formally discharge the condition as the development had commenced, the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development said the section 19 report was not a matter for the Planning Authority to prepare and that as the LLFA was the statutory consultee, the facts related to the flooding event which was the subject of the S19 report would have informed their consideration of the details submitted. The recommendation remained as stated in the report.

The Committee also heard from Hilary Ellis, Principal Officer Sustainable Drainage at Cambridgeshire County Council (LLFA), regarding tests which had been requested and asked a number of questions regarding water flow.

Members asked questions and received responses from the Joint Director of Planning and Economic Development, including on the following:

•         anticipated publication of LLFA’s report

•         design for basin capacity exceedance and direction

•         clarification of ownership of area where bund situated

•         geology of area and impact of chalk and clay debris on design

•         number of occupied properties and concerns at impact on those in occupation

•         whether the flood event in July 2021 would have occurred in the absence of development

The Committee heard from John Wood (objector), Matthew Harmsworth (agent), Kate Kell (Linton Parish Council), Corrie Newell (Linton Parish Council’s planning consultant) and Councillor John Batchelor (local Member).

John Wood presented photographs of the flooding event, described what had happened, the impact on residents, concerns at the proposals to address recurrence, and the areas where further information was required.

Members asked a number of questions to which John Wood responded, including in relation to the danger to his family arising from the extremely short time of 17 minutes which it had taken for the surface water to flood his living room.

Matthew Harmsworth addressed the Committee on behalf of the applicant. He expressed sympathy for the distress residents had suffered. He made a number of points, saying there was a high level of detail in the officers’ report and the submission had been subject to peer review; the mitigation was acknowledged and the recommendation before the Committee acknowledged the scheme addressed what was required by conditions. The applicant had agreed to submit to a post-implementation review.

Members expressed a number of concerns and asked questions to which responses were given, including on the following:

•         exceedance flow route from the infiltration basin in view of residents’ observations of direction of flow

•         layout of the bund and ditch

The Committee heard from the Parish Council representative who said the statutory consultees had not been consulted, there was a conflict of interest and the anticipated flooding calculation was insufficient in view of climate change. The consultant appointed on behalf of the Parish Council said at outline planning permission application South Cambridgeshire District Council was shown as the owner of a metre strip of land across which surface water would flow, raising the question of the applicant’s ability to maintain the site in perpetuity. Landscaping had been approved in the absence of a bund.

Speaking as local Member, Councillor John Batchelor agreed key elements of information were missing. He asked for deferral to ensure any solution offered protected the community and suggested both the surface water and foul water drainage applications be viewed together.

Members asked for a site visit to be arranged to view the strip of land which had been referred to.

By affirmation, the Committee voted to defer the application, subject to:

Receipt of the outstanding information in respect of remedial measures particularly in respect of works along the eastern site boundary and of the publication of the report of the Lead Local Flood Authority under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010;

Confirmation of details of ownership of a strip of land across which permission for flow of foul water had been granted by the Council in outline permission, to establish whether a right to maintain it could be granted to the applicant in perpetuity; and

A site visit to enable inspection to support the Committee in forming a view when considering a proposed updated surface water drainage scheme and flood mitigation measures.