Residents raise flooding fears over new home plan

A proposed new development on the outskirts of a large village could cause "significant flooding risk" to existing homes, according to its residents.

More than 30 objections have been lodged against an application to build 65 homes on farmland off Stow Road in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire.

Developer Bloor Homes Ltd has said there was "no flood risk or drainage reason why the proposed development should not proceed".

The plans will be discussed at a Huntingdonshire District Council meeting on 15 December.

Bloor Homes Ltd said 26 of the proposed 65 homes would be affordable housing, including eight shared-ownership homes and 18 affordable-rent homes, as reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Its plans also included parking spaces for 161 cars and 169 bikes.

An initial consultation attracted 31 objections, with 28 lodged in a second consultation.

Several objectors said the development could cause "significant flooding risk" to existing homes.

One said it would be built on sloping land close to the River Kym, which "currently floods after periods of heavy rain, and the position of this development will add to the flood risk of existing houses at a lower level".

Objectors cited an increase in the "heavy traffic" already experienced in the area, with others saying they would lose privacy by being overlooked.

In a report to the council, its planning officials said the plans would "not result in detrimental overlooking" of existing properties and the development would be able to manage its own surface water "through attenuation measures".

The development was not required to fix pre-existing flooding problems in the wider area, but needed to show that it could "mitigate its own impact effectively", officers added.

They also said highways had not objected to the proposed development.

The officers recommended it for approval, subject to conditions and the completion of a legal agreement.

If the legal agreement was not met, the application should be refused, they added.

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