News, Politics

Government minister promises housebuilding plans ‘will not cause more flooding’ after incident in Eastwood

By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter

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A minister has promised the Government’s plans to encourage more housebuilding will not result in more flooding – after some residents in a Nottinghamshire town were flooded by rainwater from a housing development in 2023.

The Labour Government has pledged to build 1.5m new homes nationwide over the next five years, which it hopes to achieve through planning reform and the reinstatement of housebuilding targets for local councils.

Flooding minister Emma Hardy visited Eastwood on Monday (March 24) to discuss the Government’s plans to help prevent future flooding, after hundreds of homes were affected during heavy rainfall in the town in 2023.

Some residents living in Garden Road were hit by flash-flooding in September 2023, after collected rainwater burst from the nearby Lynncroft Primary School housing development site.

Block paving and concrete posts were ripped from the ground and cars were damaged by the flood water, which escaped after a dam built by site owner, Avant Homes, collapsed.

Broxtowe Borough Council is anticipating it will need to build 8,950 new homes across the area by 2041, under a new strategic housing plan which is currently out for public consultation.

Ms Hardy told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We’ve been really clear that we want to build the 1.5m homes because we know the number of people who are desperate to own their own home, but we’re really clear those new homes shouldn’t be at risk of flooding and, really importantly, shouldn’t contribute to more flooding elsewhere.

“We are already looking at changing the national planning policy framework to include something called SuDS, which are Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, in these areas to make sure they are not going to cause flooding problems.

“The policy review has been announced. It is going to be passing through Parliament shortly, but the main message I want to get out there is make sure these homes will not cause you more flooding.”

Property developer Avant Homes is currently in the process of building 104 homes on the old school site. Some have now been built and put up for sale.

Outline plans for 200 homes on the site were initially approved, and the developer had cleared the site ready for redevelopment when the flooding incident occurred.

Consequently, Broxtowe Borough Council blocked the first phase of development in February last year over fears the new homes would make the flooding worse.

The refusal came despite a council planning officer arguing that developing the site would improve the flooding situation as drainage would be installed.

Avant Homes appealed the decision to the Planning Inspectorate, and the scheme was eventually approved in August the same year.

In a statement on Tuesday (March 25), an Avant Homes spokesperson told the LDRS: “The surface water drainage is being installed in accordance with the approved plans and we continue to ensure all appropriate measures are taken as we build out the site.

“In terms of our sales and build programme, we have recently released our first homes for sale at the development in response to significant local buyer demand.

“Roads and sewers are under construction and we have commenced brickwork on the most advanced plots.

“We now anticipate the first residents will move in this autumn and that the development will complete in spring 2027.”

The school closed in 2017, and the land had been allocated for housing under the council’s local plan.