Knowle relocation project: dealing with flood risk from over-development is 'not technically feasible'

Tomorrow marks the deadline for submissions on the latest planning application documentation from the developer at Knowle:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: deadline for comments >>> Friday 11th November >>> further amendments to PegasusLife planning application

Here is a letter to the press focussing on yet another example of how the unsustainable the development would be: 


Overdevelopment of Knowle could cause problems for town’s drains

November 9, 2016
by sidmouthsid Leave a comment

Pegasus Life’s latest batch of amendments to their planning application, has provoked the following letter, sent to the local press:
‘Sir

Residents and businesses downhill from the Knowle should be alerted to one of the 28 documents that PegasusLife has added to their planning application for the Knowle site. 

The letter that heads their 215 page ‘On Site Attenuation Report’ (document 2464318 on the EDDC Planning pages) discusses arrangements to deal with potential flash floods in episodes of heavy rain. With heavy rain incidents likely to increase in number and intensity in the coming years, it becomes more likely that the lower parts of town are at risk of flash floods as the town centre drains are overwhelmed. This could be made worse by the over-development of the Knowle. 

In their original application PegasusLife planned to reduce the amount of rainwater going into the town’s drains by diverting excess water into soakaways. However, their latest ground survey has shown that the types of soil and their distribution means this is ‘not technically feasible’. An alternative solution was to install attenuation tanks (basically large holding tanks that drain slowly) near the existing car park and under the EDDC depot at the SW corner of the site. It turns out that these tanks would have to be so large to cope with predicted flows they would be difficult and expensive to build. PegasusLife make it clear in their letter they do not want to deal with this problem, partly because “it is not viable in terms of cost for the project”. 

Bearing in mind the huge profit the company stands to make by trying to cram more than one hundred apartments onto the site and trying to avoid contributing anything to affordable housing in the town by claiming their apartment blocks are care homes, this does not wash. 

Let us hope that EDDC is not so desperate to complete the sale that they let PegasusLife get away with this.

Ed Dolphin, Sidmouth ‘

REMINDER: Deadline for your comments on the 28 latest documents, is this FRIDAY 11th NOVEMBER. See our previous post for details.

Categories: East Devon Issues, EDDC, Knowle Watch

Overdevelopment of Knowle could cause problems for town’s drains | Save Our Sidmouth
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