Published in the Portsmouth News on the 6th August 2018
Story by Byron Melton
CAMPAIGNERS have called for a planning application to be deferred to the Environment Agency amid fears a development could lead to flooding.
Residents have said Hampshire Homes’ plans for 46 homes east of Westwood Close, in Emsworth, could ‘pose a serious threat’ to the local water table after they were lodged with Havant Borough Council (HBC).
The build is pencilled for flood zone one land close to the River Ems – which according to the Environment Agency has less than a 0.1 per cent chance of flooding.
However, areas surrounding the site fall into flood zones two and three which face a one per cent chance or greater of flooding from rivers in any given year.
Chairman of Havant Friends of the Earth, Ray Cobbett, says the proposals must be deferred so a development’s full, potential impact on the River Ems can be assessed.
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