Proposal to stop development until flooding at lower Priory resolved not adopted

PLANNING rules allow for refusal if flooding resulting from a development puts other properties at risk, a councillor has been told.

Milford Haven county councillor Stephen Joseph had called for a stop on developments which fed into the watercourses around Lower Priory and Liddeston.

A review examining enhanced option costing, the viability of addressing the flooding of properties, property-level protection, the potential impact of climate change and the potential for partnership working is being carried out following floods in Lower Priory and Havens Head in 2018.

There was still no resolution, said Cllr Joseph, and this needed to be “pushed.”

In support of his Notice of Motion, Cllr Joseph said:

“Whilst I’m aware that there is an on-going piece of work regards to the flooding, I am very concerned that we don’t exasperate the problem by not looking at future planning applications.

“The runoff water from future developments feeding into this watercourse needs to be understood and the impact of it taken into account for all future planning applications in this area until the problem is solved.”

He heard at Tuesday’s (January 26) that the recommendation was to not adopt his motion because planning policy criteria related to flooding, disposal of surface water and not increasing flooding risks elsewhere, with developments underway in the area meeting those policies.

Officers also recommended exploring the feasibility of adding a “constraint layer to the planning database” which would automatically trigger consultation with the head of the infrastructure if an application was made in that area.

Cllr Joseph accepted the recommendations, saying “if it’s possible to turn down at the planning stage because if a risk to flooding elsewhere that ticks the box for me.”