Flooding of fields sited north of Burnham-On-Sea show how unsuitable they are for the development of 2,000 proposed new homes, a local resident has claimed.
John Presley took these photos of the water-logged fields fields south of Brent Road on Sunday (February 18th) which are earmarked for the possible future development.
“A night of rain amid a wet winter has left large areas of the fields under several inches of water – showing just how unsuitable they are for new housing,” claims John.
“If homes were built on those fields, that water would have to go somewhere else and it could well lead to flooding nearby.”
“The environmental impact of the proposals needs to be very seriously considered before the plans start to progress. This is the wrong location.”
Last week, Burnham-On-Sea.com reported here that the group of local landowners behind the proposals to build up to 2,000 new homes plus a new primary school and community facilities on the fields have addressed some local concerns.
As first reported here by Burnham-On-Sea.com, a group of 12 landowners, represented by local estate agents Greenslade Taylor Hunt, have selected Barratt Bristol to bring forward the long-term plans.
The proposals have raised a number of questions from Burnham-On-Sea.com readers about the location of the development, the size and type of housing, the timing, whether local infrastructure can cope and will be upgraded, and the environmental impact.
A spokesperson for Barratt Homes issued a new statement on Friday (February 16th), saying: “In partnership with the local landowners of the site, we recently stated our intentions to bring forward plans for around 2,000 homes to the north of Burnham along with a new link road and other vital infrastructure. These plans represent a significant investment in Burnham and we want to get this right, that means stating our intentions and getting people involved early on.”
“We believe that a housing led development in this area would make a terrific contribution to Somerset Council’s emerging Local Plan, providing high-quality homes in the future. The Council’s new Local Plan will not be approved for some time, and it will be several years before any new housing is built.”
“It would therefore be wrong at this stage to talk in any detail about housing numbers, or the mix and size of homes. We will share our first thoughts on how the development could look over the next few months.”
The statement goes on to add: “We have tentatively suggested that a housing scheme of this scale would typically require a new primary school. We are aware though that in many parts of Somerset school roles are falling and, the Council recently agreed that the planned school at Brue Farm is not likely to be required. We will be looking in detail at education requirements and the need for health facilities etc as we move forward.”
“We are keen to talk to the community to understand what they want to see considered given our proposals are very much in their infancy at the moment. We are currently carrying out surveys on matters such as ecology, drainage and flood risk to ensure that these are taken into account from the very beginning of the project.”
Read: Local landowners announce plans for 2,000 new homes in Burnham-On-Sea
