Flood warnings for Clay Cross development dismissed, claim residents

Clay Cross residents are calling for planners to revoke permission for part of a controversial housing development over flooding issues, which they claim were ignored prior to the application being approved.
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Mark Allen says he provided North East Derbyshire District Council with both videos and photographs of flooding at Press Brook, which runs between his home in Windermere Road and the Clay Lane development, to a depth of 1.26 metres.

However he claims the authority dismissed this evidence prior to granting Woodall Homes planning permission to build 34 homes there.

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He said: “I submitted pictures and videos showing it in flood before they even started work on the land, so at that point the council could have changed their direction.

Cllr Ross Shipman and Richard Eden at the Woodall Homes developmentCllr Ross Shipman and Richard Eden at the Woodall Homes development
Cllr Ross Shipman and Richard Eden at the Woodall Homes development

“But they didn’t, they carried on.”

The North East Derbyshire District Council Draft Local Plan 2014-2023 earmarked the land off Clay Lane for 25 homes, saying the west of the site was ‘within Flood Risk Zones two and three’ and outlining that ‘mitigation measures, such as a buffer between the brook and any development, should be implemented’.

As consultees on the original planning application, the parish council also outlined a flooding problem, stating: “Flooding in the area adjacent to Press Brook is, and always has been a major problem.”

It added the brook had flooded ‘at least four times within last few years’.

Woodall Homes developmentWoodall Homes development
Woodall Homes development
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College lecturer Richard Eden, of Windermere Road, said if the land in the north west corner of the site was not built upon, it might prevent future flooding.

He commented: “Let it be the natural flood plain it was, then we’re no worse off.

“But it seems more important to build eight houses in that corner than the risk of flooding 30 houses in Windermere Road.”

Under the Town and Country Planning Act, the district council can revoke planning permission, but would need to pay Woodall Homes compensation for the work already undertaken.

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When approached by the Derbyshire Times, the authority would not indicate how much it would be liable for if permission was revoked at this stage.

In a statement, it said: “Comments raised by residents and the parish council in respect of the original application, including concerns about flood risk, were considered by the planning committee in determining the application.

“In relation to flooding concerns, the committee was guided by the comments of the statutory and technical consultee in these matters, the Lead Local Flood Authority, who raised no objections.

“As part of the current amended application, the council continues to engage with the Lead Local Flood Authority to highlight and try to resolve residents’ concerns.”

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