18 Mar 2025
Could families living in affordable homes on one of St Albans’ proposed new housing developments be sitting on a ticking timebomb of flooding?
That’s the fear of campaign group CLASH, which has been fighting against the development of north St Albans for around 15 years.
As the district Local Plan enters the next phase of the examination process, with the Planning Inspector set to begin his review next month, alarm bells are ringing about the potential dangers of flooding on the site.
Housebuilding on the Cala Homes site will be taking place either side of a flood flow path – the route water takes overland when drainage systems are overwhelmed – with the developer installing a water pumping station to tackle any potential problems with flooding.
This means flood water will be pumped into the sewer system, potentially causing overflow into our rare chalk streams and causing catastrophic environmental damage.
But CLASH have also highlighted the consequences to neighbouring properties should the pumping station break down, and claim Cala are ignoring the importance of the flood flow path.
“They are risking the properties on that part of the site,” said spokesperson Gee Smedley. “It’s not a question of if the pumping station breaks down, but when, and then the floodwater has nowhere to go other than the development.
“But the houses most at risk are the affordable homes which will have been occupied by teachers, nurses and so on, with the executive homes boasting countryside views safe from flooding because they’re further up the hill.”
Alarmingly, Herts county council as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) has not been allowed to comment fully on the proposals by planning authority SADC, who determined the flood related condition ahead of the statutory timetable.
CLASH say the LLFA were not able to reply to technical concerns they raised relating to the size of the drainage scheme and the existence and location of the pumping station.
Pumping stations are not permitted in new development as a standard flood defence because they are not deemed sustainable under the new National Planning Policy Framework, but council officers are permitted to waive these rules under what is known as ‘planning judgement’, which means the demand for housing is sufficient to overlook the restrictions.
Councillors on the development management committee are expected to vote on the reserved matters relating to the site this Wednesday, but CLASH fear a decision has already been made.
CLASH wrote to councillors: “Reserved matters are not a fait accompli and applications set a precedent going forward.
“With so much Green Belt release happening for the first time in 80 years are councillors willing to set a poor precedent for many future schemes by agreeing with officers’ planning judgement, being deliberately used to sidestep crucial planning policy and building regulation to deliver a poor scheme?
“This application can be refused with sound and solid defensible grounds and councillors should not be scared off by appeal costs.”
The decision will be made at the council’s development management committee at 7pm tomorrow (Wednesday March 19).
