40 homes in Somerset have been granted outline planning permission despite the site having a high probability of flooding.
Sedgemoor District Council had refused the application initially but the appellant submitted proposals to mitigate the risk of flooding, by raising land in the area and a surface water management plan, that were accepted by a planning inspector.
The 2.8 hectare site, adjacent to the settlement boundary of East Brent, is in Flood Zone 3a, with a high probability of flooding. In order to mitigate this flood risk, the land would need to be raised by importing around 20,000m3 of additional material by heavy goods vehicles, which would be compacted to form a finished floor level of 5.93 metres above mean sea level.
The planning inspector who decided the application said that the sequential test submitted with the appeal demonstrated that there were no other reasonably available sites for the proposal in areas with a lower risk of flooding. This was in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out that if it is not possible for development to be located in such areas, the exception test may have to be applied.
It was ruled that the proposal would be granted subject to land-raising that would bring the finished floor levels of the proposed homes to a point where occupiers would be safe from flooding. Surface water from the site would be directed to a local river, and an on-site attenuation scheme would be used to accommodate severe storms and allowing for climate change.
In conclusion the inspector ruled that such measures would mitigate the flood risk at the site, and any residual flood risk would be limited. This residual risk would be outweighed by the contribution of the site and the proposal would make to wider sustainable development objectives, he added. Planning permission was therefore granted for the site.
