Councillors must debate Clay Cross planning application with flooding questions left unanswered

Members of North East Derbyshire District Council’s Planning Committee will once again discuss an application to make alterations to road alignment and plot position at a housing development in Clay Lane on Tuesday, January 18.

The committee voted to defer decision on the alterations in a meeting last month, requesting clarification over the extent of flooding issues at the site, however this further information has yet to materialise.

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: “The county council, in our role as Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), would still like to see further information so that we can understand if this development presents an additional flood risk.

“We have asked the developer to provide further information, but under planning law are aware that they are not obliged to do this.

“This particular planning application before North East’s planning committee next week does not require the council to undertake a further flood assessment.”

The LLFA has stated a full hydraulic model of the Press Brook watercourse, which is the source of the flooding, is needed in order to determine the extent of the issue.

The district council stipulates that the flooding issue has no bearing on the debate over this latest planning application, which is for relatively minor changes.

However planning committee members argued in the last meeting that it was a factor that needed to be considered.

A spokesperson for the district council said: “The committee will pick up consideration of the application where it left off in December with members debating the application before deciding how to determine it.”