Back in June 2013 the east Area Planning Committee approved the two Haboakus developments in Northway subject to conditions – chiefly about drainage – being met. You can remind yourself about them, including the Kevin McLeod connection, here and trail back through the whole history here.

Firstly, on the Westlands Drive site (ref: (original) 12/03281/FUL and (this condition) 12/03281/CND) the developers have undertaken to contribute £1500 to the County Council towards the cost of amending various regulations so that residents are not eligible for residents’ and visitors’ parking permits. The official document is here. I am not sure how this squares with the provision of 21 car parking spaces to go with the 21 flats which form the development.

On the same Westlands Drive development, Thames Water have confirmed that after carrying out a study they have determined that no new work needs to be done to cope with the extra foul sewage from this development. There is no need for a foul storage tank.

For the other site, Maltfield Road, aka Dora Carr Close, (ref: (original) 12/03280/FUL and (this condition) 12/03280/CND) the problem is that the foul sewers fill up with surface water at times of high rainfall and there is a danger of foul sewage flooding. Three options were considered and the favoured solution is to build an on-site storage tank to contain the foul flow from the development at times of high flow in the sewers. A new pumping station will be needed, controlled by telemetry so that the foul drainage from the site will only be discharged to the sewers when the flow is low enough not to cause problems. You can read the full report here.

No part of the Thames Water study looked at surface water flooding. If these responses to the conditions on the planning permission are acceptable they remove the most significant objections to the developments going ahead.

Thames Water has submitted formal objections to the Haboakus developments in Northway with concerns about the inability of the local drainage systems to cope with the increased capacity. The letters are here and here.

They are asking the Council to require the developers produce a ‘drainage strategy’ for approval before development proceeds.

The Northway Residents’ Group is also objecting over drainage, crowding/overlooking, loss of green spaces and lack of consultation opportunities, and several local residents have written letters on the same themes.

Links

Westlands Drive: Reference 12/03281/FUL.

Maltfield Road: Reference 12/03280/FUL.

To see all my articles on this development click here.

There was a public meeting held in Marston Community Centre on Monday 4 March to discuss these developments. I couldn’t be there but I’ve had some feedback from someone who was. The proposals were presented by the City’s Chief Planning Officer Michael Crofton Briggs with support from other officers.

I’m told the meeting was quite lively, with many local residents unconvinced about the merits of the development. A major cause for concern was the problem with local drainage and flooding, with people worried about the effects of the increased load on the already inadequate systems. Some felt that the residential blocks would overlook and dominate existing properties. Mr Crofton Briggs assured those present that their views, as far as they fell within the permissible grounds for objection, would be recorded and fed into the evaluation process.

A quick look today (Wednesday) at the planning applications on the Council website finds that there are so far about a dozen objections, all of which focus on one or other of the issues above.