Critics say new homes unsuitable for flood-hit town

Proposals for new homes have sparked fears history could be repeated after a previous development was partially blamed as a cause of flooding three years ago.

The plot south of Bickley Close in Besthorpe, a village next to Attleborough in Norfolk, is currently earmarked for up to 110 houses.

It is causing concern as work on a nearby development on Norwich Road led to a stream being blocked which contributed to about 130 homes being flooded in 2023, a Norfolk County Council investigation found.

George Freeman, Conservative MP for Mid Norfolk, has joined local councillors in objecting, calling the site "unsuitable".

No formal plans have been put forward for the development but it is included in the council's Local Plan - a document that sets out where development can take place over a 20-year period.

A consultation is currently open for locals to share their views.

In a letter to the council, co-signed by local councillors, Freeman said: "We consider this site to be fundamentally unsuitable for development on this scale.

"Given the severity and recency of flooding in this location and our knowledge of how inadequately flood risk has been factored into planning decisions in this area, we do not consider this assurance in any way sufficient."

An investigation into the flooding caused by Storm Babet in October 2023 put some blame on changes to watercourses linked to housing developments.

Another key issue was a temporary road being constructed over the Besthorpe Stream during work to build the 165-home Gables development on Norwich Road, which caused it to back up.

Combined with an overwhelmed network struggling with silted-up, debris-filled culverts and high water downstream, it led to flooding in nearby streets, including Mill Lane - a street adjacent to where the new homes would be built.

Before the development was granted planning permission following an appeal, locals objected as the land had previously often flooded.

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Tony Watling, chairman of Besthorpe Parish Council, worried that building on the land at Bickley Close would mean there would be less land to absorb water.

He says it currently becomes saturated during heavy rain.

"If you build on it, that water has to go somewhere," he said.

Freeman has been campaigning for more action over inland flooding, believing new housing is putting existing communities at risk.

In a further blow for the flood-stricken community, flood prevention works upstream of Mill Lane in Attleborough have stalled due to a lack of funding to complete the project.

There had been plans to create natural flood management systems in the upper catchment of the River Thet, north of Attleborough, but further cash was needed to compensate a landowner so the scheme would be effective long term.

Breckland Council said it could not comment on the objections to the proposed housing in Besthorpe.

The Hill Group, the firm behind the Gables development, has also been approached for comment.

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