Kessingland celebrates planning victory
VILLAGERS are celebrating a victory after plans to build 20 homes in Kessingland were turned down by a government-appointed inspector.Proposals for 20 affordable homes to be built on land south of The Nordalls, in Kessingland, were refused by Waveney District Council in July.
VILLAGERS are celebrating a victory after plans to build 20 homes in Kessingland were turned down by a government-appointed inspector.
Proposals for 20 affordable homes to be built on land south of The Nordalls, in Kessingland, were refused by Waveney District Council in July.
Developer Wellington Construction appealed against the decision and a local hearing was held in Lowestoft in January, but now the inspector has dismissed the appeal.
Many villagers objected to the plans from the outset and, last year, 525 people signed a petition against the scheme, which they said would worsen existing flood problems in the village.
Although Anglian Water did not object to the plans, Waveney originally refused the proposals because the developers had not provided sufficient evidence to prove that the new houses would not worsen problems with both surface water and sewage flooding.
Planning inspector John Felgate's report said: 'From the submissions before me, it is clear that there are serious flooding problems in parts of Kessingland, including The Nordalls and Church Lane, due to overloading of the existing combined foul and surface water sewers during periods of heavy rainfall.
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'Because the system involved is a combined one, the flood waters are mixed with raw sewage. In my opinion all of this evidence points to a most unpleasant and hazardous situation, in which many residents live in constant fear of similar incidents.'
Liam Martin, chairman of Kessingland Parish Council, said: 'There have been a number of applications for this site over the last five years and this final result really vindicates everything that we have been saying about the flooding problems there.
'This is a victory for the residents. The parish council has been working with the community for some time to get this result - everybody I have spoken to in the village is very pleased.
'It is a great result for Kessingland and for our whole community after a lot of hard work.'
Paul Pitcher, director of Wellington Construction, said: 'We are obviously very disappointed with the decision and we are currently taking legal advice on the contents of the decision.
'In addition, we are progressing further opportunities for the land to see what else we can do there. As far as the land is concerned, this is by no means dead in the water.'
