16/02035/STOUT | Outline - Erection of residential development for up to 70 dwellings (Access and Scale to be considered) | Land South Of The Redwoods High Stile Leven East Riding Of Yorkshire HU17 5NL
Comments submitted to ERYC 5/8/16:
In the Local Development Plan and as a Rural Service Centre, Leven is expected to expand. However, we feel that this application is inappropriate at this particular time because of significant drainage and flooding issues within the village which have not been resolved and we feel that it is essential that an appropriate alleviation scheme should be in place before any future development commences in order to safeguard any new homes that are built on this land and the existing adjacent homes and development that was flooded in 2007.
The details in the application regarding drainage and how they intend to deal with it are not only significantly out of date as the tests were carried out in 2013 but are woefully inadequate. Since the tests were originally done the Environment Agency has upgraded the flood status of part of this site to Level 2, bringing into question how it should be dealt with.
Whilst Leven parish council indicated that this was a preferred site over and above the other sites put forward they have always reiterated that drainage and flooding were a significant concern for new and existing residents and that Leven required a flood alleviation scheme before any further development took place on the allocated land and this was backed up by a statement in the Local Development Plan by the Government Inspector who ratified it.
Leven parish council supports ERYC officers in their statement that inadequate testing on site has been carried out and we would urge that 4 seasons testing is done in order to gain a better overall picture of the land and the natural drainage. We appreciate that there is a cost implication to the developer but this is far outweighed by the safeguards that it will bring to the future potential development of this site and any properties on it.
The pump station in Leven was under significant pressure when it dealt solely with sewerage but now that it has to deal with both sewerage and surface water it is overloading the system. This pump station was built in the 1950s and over the years has not had adequate investment spent on it to keep pace with development within the village or to give confidence that it is able to cope with any additional development. Recently it has been reported to the parish council on more than one occasion that effluent from this pump station has overflowed onto the surrounding land and that when it rains the pump station frequently trips out.
We note on the proposed plans that there is no provision for a footpath at the top of Rosedale to connect this development with High Stile and the existing village facilities e.g. School, doctors etc. and we believe that to give it a sense of belonging this should be incorporated into any future scheme.
High Stile and Hornsea Road is an exceptionally busy corridor for traffic utilising the school, the doctors, village facilities as well as homes and accessing the bypass. On the plans there appears to be no provision for an improved traffic management scheme in that area.
There is no mention in the application of how the developer intends to protect the existing residents of Rosedale from construction vehicles and heavy traffic that would obviously access the site that is situated at the bottom of Rosedale. This should be a fundamental part of any application now or in the future.
After the 2007 floods in the village, a proposed Leven Flood Alleviation Scheme was commissioned by ERYC and drawn up by Mason Clark but when the revised River Hull Valley Strategy was drawn up our scheme was superseded by the Holderness Drain Flood Alleviation Scheme. It is in the early stages and is being promoted by the Flood Risk Strategy team at ERYC in preference to the original scheme as it has far reaching benefits not just for Leven but for other surrounding communities including Tickton, Bransholme (over 1000 homes) as well as agricultural land and the developments at Kingswood . The intention of the scheme is to take the water out of the system quicker and more efficiently into the river. Once the scheme is built and in place it would have significant benefit to Leven by reducing the peak levels in Monk Dyke and the Low Bowlams Dyke.
We would therefore ask you to consider that the construction of the Holderness Drain Flood Alleviation Scheme is a matter of urgency before any further development takes place in Leven. Please remember that Leven flooded significantly in 2007 due to the water entering our local system from other areas including Hornsea and surrounding villages and due to the fact that it could not get away fast enough into the Holderness Drain and subsequently into the river, therefore it collected at the low point in Leven namely The Orchard and the adjacent fields causing major flooding to approx. 70 homes and businesses. Not only did this cause great distress to the residents and businesses but it also had a huge financial impact upon them. It was months before they could get back into their homes. We have no desire to see the same thing happen again.
Any and all measures to protect this development from flooding should be in place before it is approved. It is not good enough to say that mitigating measures can be taken on site to prevent flooding when experience shows otherwise. It is too late to do anything about the flood water lapping at your door once permission has been granted. As a Parish Council we consider that ERYC, its officers and councillors have a duty of care to our residents to safeguard them and their homes for the future by making sure that all and any potential flood risks are eliminated and that protective measures are built first and in place before permission is granted. The test for the councillors and officers making the decision regarding this application is “would you be happy to buy a house and live on this development without a flood alleviation scheme in place?”.
Guarantees cannot be given by ERYC, the Environment Agency nor the developer that this development will not flood or contribute to the already existing flood situation in Leven as the application stands.
Leven Parish Council believes that this application is too soon and strongly urges that it should be refused until such time as the Holderness Drain Flood Alleviation Scheme has been built.
DC/16/01318/CM/STRAT/MSUNMA - Variation of Condition 3 (opening hours) of planning permission 15/00219/STPLF to increase opening hours from 0700 to 1800 Mondays to Fridays and 0800 to 1300 Saturdays to enable the site to operate up to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (AMENDED INFORMATION) at Yarrows Aggregates Limited, Leven Bypass White Cross To Leven Roundabout, Leven, East Riding Of Yorkshire, HU17 5PS, for Yarrows Aggregates Limited - Application type: County Matter