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Contesting a planning proposal

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Hi all,

The freehold land next to my cul-de-sac has been bought by developers to make a new housing estate. We already live in a crowded area with lots of estates, so the usual issues of traffic and noise apply. However, the land mainly consists of fields which will need to be concreted over to build the houses. We (the homeowners on the neighboring estate) are concerned that this will increase the flood risk for our homes, meaning that we will struggle to sell in an already dense housing area. The proposal is apparently in consultation now but it's not on the council website.

Can I get some advice on:

a. Contesting a planning proposal
b. Finding regulations and policies on increasing flood risks or other environmental problems through housing development

Thank you in advance!

Comments

  • tacpot12
    tacpot12 Posts: 9,253 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The developers should, as part of the planning requirements, be expected to install a sustainable drainage system (SuDS) so that the risk of flooding is not increased, or is even reduced. There are lots of things that they can do to capture and store rainfall so that it does not flow into the watertable or watercourses any faster than it does currently. 
    The comments I post are my personal opinion. While I try to check everything is correct before posting, I can and do make mistakes, so always try to check official information sources before relying on my posts.
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 18,223 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You will probably find the proposal falls within the local council's development proposals. As such, there is very little you can do to get the application thrown out. A well considered objection based on policy guidelines may result in a few minor changes, but that would be a "best outcome". Your estate, and others close by, will have already set a precedent for developmet.
    The developers will have considered the flood risk and have measures in place for drainage - This will either be a massive underground soakaway, holding ponds, storm drains to a local watercourse, or a combination..
    Her courage will change the world.

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  • Barny1979
    Barny1979 Posts: 7,921 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The land is probably earmarked for housing in the Local Plan. 
  • ka7e
    ka7e Posts: 3,130 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    The land may be marked as suitable for housing on the local plan, but that doesn't mean you can't object. My Council will no longer allow any extra water run-off to enter the current drainage system and there has to be a comprehensive drainage plan to capture and/or divert water off a site. This is often costly to the developer as it can compromise the number of new houses that can be accommodated.

    Re traffic -The number of car journeys a site creates are drawn up using a tricky algorithm. In my view it wildly underestimates usage by stating everyone will walk/cycle/bus to local amenities and work. If a traffic survey is used, look at it very closely. One near me was carried out during school holidays and outside rush hours, so wasn't indicative of true usage. At the moment car-created pollution is a hot topic with regards to children's health and general effect on the environment.

    Maintaining local wildlife diversity should also be covered by an environmental report. Remember these are commissioned by the developer and can be sketchy. The one done for land behind my house stated no bats used a derelict building - a neighbour submitted film of them entering and leaving. The site was claimed not to maintain any large mammals, though foxes and badgers currently access neighbouring gardens from it. Meadow and scrub are recognised wildlife habitats with complicated ecosystems. The application near us was withdrawn, but we expect it to be resubmitted at some time in the future.

    But the bottom line is £££. Councils cannot afford to challenge appeals and in the long run they get a revenue stream from Council Tax on new properties
    "Cheap", "Fast", "Right" -- pick two.
  • Barny1979
    Barny1979 Posts: 7,921 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    ka7e said:
    The land may be marked as suitable for housing on the local plan, but that doesn't mean you can't object. 

    That wasn't my point, it just makes it likely that if the application is appropriate it will be ok'd, I find it NIMBYish to state you live on an estate but don't want another being built.
  • ka7e
    ka7e Posts: 3,130 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    Barny1979 said:
    ka7e said:
    The land may be marked as suitable for housing on the local plan, but that doesn't mean you can't object. 

    That wasn't my point, it just makes it likely that if the application is appropriate it will be ok'd, I find it NIMBYish to state you live on an estate but don't want another being built.

    My reply wasn't in reference to your comment, it was just a statement of facts. What I object to, is the use of greenfield sites for shoddy but expensive housing and the erosion of people's rights to complain about it. Plonking 1000 houses in an area with insufficient infrastructure to service them, no public transport links, no shops or schools or leisure facilities. Or building 25 houses on the only bit of green "lung" in a built up residential area. Building on brownfield sites will often revitalise an area, but there is less profit margin especially if decontamination is needed.

    Having dealt with planning committees regarding several developments in my town, I know they have total disregard for local opinion and have, on occasion, collaborated with developers to bypass valid objections. Here, the Council granting itself permission to build an access road, along a strip of open amenity land, to some allotments. The land was then sold to a developer who built the road just as far as a gate that gave access to their previously- landlocked and landbanked building site. The road stops 250m short of the allotment gate and is fenced to bar vehicles accessing them - but has enabled 200 luxury houses to be built on a former meadow.

    Bypasses for congested town centres, don't relieve the congestion as they are just a means to open up more land for development. Ours was completed just in time for the biggest construction site in the UK to use as a service road for it's 100s of cement/aggregate lorries and to bus it's 7000 workers to and from the site.

    I also live in an area designated a SSSI as managed wetlands, which is on the cusp of losing that status due to water pollution from farming, industry and new developments. And yet nearly all new estates are being built on flood plains. One had a road where all the houses had to be bought back by the developer as they subsided into a back-filled rhyne and had to be underpinned.

    I do know we need more housing, but I'm fed up with green spaces being cherry-picked from the Local Plan so that poorly-constructed houses with no energy-saving features can be chucked up for maximum profit.
    "Cheap", "Fast", "Right" -- pick two.
  • neilmcl
    neilmcl Posts: 19,460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Hi all,

    The freehold land next to my cul-de-sac has been bought by developers to make a new housing estate. We already live in a crowded area with lots of estates, so the usual issues of traffic and noise apply. However, the land mainly consists of fields which will need to be concreted over to build the houses. We (the homeowners on the neighboring estate) are concerned that this will increase the flood risk for our homes, meaning that we will struggle to sell in an already dense housing area. The proposal is apparently in consultation now but it's not on the council website.

    Can I get some advice on:

    a. Contesting a planning proposal
    b. Finding regulations and policies on increasing flood risks or other environmental problems through housing development

    Thank you in advance!
    Your local council's planning department should have a guide explaining how and what you can comment on in a planning application. One example is: https://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/planning/view_a_planning_application/how_to_comment_on_applications/guide_to_commenting.aspx
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