Ms Linda Griffiths
Cherwell District Council
Planning and Development Services
Bodicote House 
White Post Road
Bodicote
Banbury
OX15 4AA

	

Our ref:	WA/2010/108910/01-L01
Your ref:	10/01492/REM

Date:		20 January 2011

Dear Ms Griffiths

RESERVED MATTERS TO OUTLINE PLANNING APPLICATION 06/00967/OUT - CONSTRUCTION OF 38 DWELLINGS (KM6).   
KM6 DEVELOPMENT SITE, MIDDLETON STONEY ROAD, BICESTER, OXFORDSHIRE.      

Thank you for your consultation regarding the above site. I apologise for the delay inn our response.

Environment Agency position

We object to the grant of reserved matters planning permission for the following reasons:
 
Reasons:
1.      The application fails to demonstrated that surface water run-off can be effectively managed. The proposed development will present risks of flooding on-site and/or off-site if surface water.
2.      The proposed development encroaches into the 8 metre buffer zone on the Pingle Stream main river. 
 
1) The Kingsmere Design Code dated July 2008 indicates that “Cherwell District Council will use this Code as a material consideration when determining Reserved Matters within Kingsmere.” The Design Code also says in the Surface water Drainage Strategy on page 47 that “Priority will be given to the use of soakaways within each property. If infiltration rates are inadequate then attenuation and storage systems will be considered as the next preferred means of source control within the property boundaries.”

To our knowledge it has not been demonstrated that soakaways are suitable in this parcel of the development or how the surface water will be managed on site. On page 48 of the Design Code under the Development parcel – Source Control Criteria section the red text also asks for consultation with the Environment Agency about soakaway and infiltration techniques for each development parcel.

The surface water drainage scheme shown in drawing number 1903/D/006 Rev L dated 12/07/10 produced by WSP indicates that this parcel (KM6) will not connect to the northern surface water drainage catchment and will be subject to an independent strategy. This is not mentioned in the flood risk assessment approved at the outline stage dated January 2007 revision 4 project number 11011546 produced by WSP. Please can you clarify this.

If KM6 is separate from the rest of the northern drainage catchment then this means that a large volume of surface water attenuation storage will have to be provided within the development parcel itself to ensure that surface water discharge rates do not increase from greenfield rates during storm events up to and including the 1 in 100 year storm event with an allowance for climate change, in accordance with the requirements of PPS 25.

The volume of surface of surface water storage that will be required to achieve this standard may have a significant land-take requirement and it is therefore essential that the location of the storage is considered as part of the layout of the development.

2) In places the proposed development in parcel KM6 is less than 4m from the top of the bank of the Pingle Stream main river in accordance with the submitted drawing number KM6-001Rev D, dated October 2010, produced by Bovis Homes.

Condition 27 of 06/00967/OUT states that “No development shall take place within 8 metres of any watercourse without prior written consent of the Local Planning Authority.”

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
  
Yours sincerely

Ms Michelle Kidd
Planning Liaison Officer

Direct dial 01491 828455
Direct fax 01491 834703
Direct e-mail michelle.kidd@environment-agency.gov.uk

cc Bovis Homes Ltd