A CONTROVERSIAL application for the development of 53 homes in Drakes Broughton has been approved by Wychavon District Council despite extensive concerns around sewage and drainage issues in the area.
The 4.83 hectare Thornleigh development off Stonebow Road will lead to the creation of 53 new homes (40 per cent affordable) including one, two, three, four and five bed properties to the north of the Pershore.
Plans have been met with major trepidation because of longstanding issues in the area around insufficient drainage which often leads to raw sewage on Stonebow Road and waterlogged gardens in neighbouring properties on Williamson Way, among other issues.
After the application was previously refused in July, it was brought back before the committee on September 12 without clear clarification for the reconsideration.
Wychavon’s explanation for recalling the application was a simple statement accompanying the meeting’s agenda which cited ‘advise from the monitoring officer’ as its reasoning.
During the September meeting, the developers – Hayfield Homes – announced plans to implement a foul water drainage system which will have enough tank storage capacity to cope with 48 hours worth of sewage.
A further tank with an extra 20 per cent capacity will also be installed. This system will be operated and maintained by a management company who will tanker the foul water away – all paid for by occupiers of the new properties.
Other drainage systems to lead surface water away from Stonebow Road and towards the north of the site, where there is an overflow pond, will be implemented. The pond will be re-profiled to cope with excess water which will flow into existing Severn Trent drains before being treated. A water infrastructure payment will continue to be made to Severn Trent to support existing infrastructure.
Drakes Broughton councillor, Rob Adams, who is not a planning committee member said: “You the committee supported refusal all the way along and on what I’ve heard again, I hope you would be consistent in refusing this application.
“I feel its a very bad start when you put in an application talking about tankering foul material away. And therefore its all down to you [the resident] to pay.
“There have been good planning reasons, in my opinion, to have this refused.”
Wychavon’s planning committee voted to the tune of 10 in favour and two against after Hayfield’s drainage system plans proved fruitful in easing previous concerns.
The government is trying to steer councils away from approving developments which rely on management companies for maintenance and are also aiming to implement planning policy frameworks which mandate necessary infrastructure is built alongside developments to cope with increased needs for education, healthcare and other services.
There are also currently two other nearby developments under appeal, for a total of 55 homes, which raise more questions about the strain on infrastructure and services in the locality.
Alongside the drainage issues, reservations have also been raised about the development’s access via Stonebow Road which has heavy traffic. Access to the site will be via a lane off Stonebow Road, which is set to expanded.
Meesha Patel, Director of Legal and Governance and Monitoring Officer for Wychavon District Council, has since clarified her reasonings for recalling the application.
In a statement Mrs Patel told the Observer: “The way in which the original decision was made included a procedural error which meant it wasn’t clear a formal proposal had been made before a vote was taken.
“This could have resulted in the decision being legally challenged. It was decided the best option was to return the application to the next available committee to be voted on again.
“To be clear, when councillors reconsidered the application, they did so as a free vote. They were not instructed or compelled in any way to vote in favour of the application.
“Having considered the facts of the application, those members present at the planning committee meeting on 12 September reached a different decision to those present at the committee meeting in July and voted in favour. Both meetings were recorded and are available to watch on our YouTube channel.”
Visit https://eveshamobserver.co.uk/news/application-submitted-for-53-new-homes-in-drakes-broughton/ for more information on the development.
