The Zone 3a flood plain to the north of Barge Pier Road is the site of the proposed Bellway Development. I am opposed to the development because-the clue is in the name-it is a FLOOD PLAIN.
I’m quite sure I am not the only one and others, for example the Shoeburyness Residents’ Association, have objected to this development because it entails having soil laden HGVs travelling along Southend roads every few minutes for more than 2.5 years in order to fill in the flood plain.
This will adversely affect businesses when both employees and customers are in gridlocked roads. It is not clear that these roads, which are in a poor state of repair, can take this type of use (likewise the utilities, such as sewage and water pipes, which run under the roads). It is also not clear who will insure the new development and the existing homes and properties when insurers realise that they are on a flood plain (the expensive Flood Re scheme?)
Flood Risk Increase
However, my main objection is that removing the protection of the flood plain clearly increases the risk of flooding to lives, homes and properties surrounding the flood plain and so I wrote to the CEO of the Environment Agency (EA). I now know that, contrary to what Southend Council would have you believe, the EA did NOT approve the development but warned the Council that there was no guaranteed funding in place to raise the sea wall over the next 40 plus years and this provided a significant risk to the long term sustainability of the development. I also now know that the Council had not submitted photos to the EA of the flood plain being under water as a result of excessive freshwater flooding. If the flood plain is filled in then in future that water has to go somewhere else and that will be the existing homes and properties on lower ground.
Council’s Engineering Concerns
The Council actually suggested that as the new homes would have garages and utility rooms at ground level these could fill with water and provide the same level of protection as the flood plain. Firstly the volume would be a fraction of that provided by the flood plain (the flood plain is being filled in), secondly the new homes’ lower levels are set higher than the flood plain lower level and thirdly they will have concrete floors so water cannot soak away. It is worrying that this is the level of engineering expertise within the Council but may explain why planning permission was granted in the first place.
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) is a government document which Local Planning Authorities (Southend Council is the LPA) must follow before granting planning permission. It specifically discourages the building on flood plains (so as to avoid a repeat of the Somerset Levels et al) and within it there are rules for ensuring that not only will new developments not be at risk of flooding but nor will existing homes and properties.
The NPPF stresses that ALL other areas should be considered before building on a flood plain (Southend Council looked at one other area to tick this box, a totally unsuitable one, and did not look elsewhere). Southend Council finally admitted that there will be increased risk of flooding to existing homes and properties but decided it was minimal. On what basis? Climate change is occurring at a much faster rate than anyone anticipated just 10 years ago and the number of tidal flood alerts issued by the EA has risen alarmingly in that period (hence their warning to Southend Council re the financing of sea defences).
Ignoring EA Advice
In any case, the NPPF does not say a minimal increase is OK, it says there should be NO increase in risk to existing lives, homes and property and this rules out the development being approved. The Council is going ahead as it is both poacher (it wants the development) and gamekeeper (as the LFA it decides if the NPPF requirements have been met). The EA insists it can only advise the Council and this advice has been ignored. I would add that it took the intervention of the Information Commissioner to compel Southend Council to respond to my FOI requests.
Urgent Action Needed
This development should be stopped NOW and the Council should only consider building in areas which meet the rules contained in the NPPF.