Borrow pit set for approval
PLANS for a borrow pit - moving soil from one location to another - on a controversial housing site in Caisterlook set to be approved despite initial concerns over drainage.
PLANS for a borrow pit - moving soil from one location to another - on a controversial housing site in Caister
look set to be approved despite initial concerns over drainage.
Work on a site off West Road ground to a halt earlier this year after developer Bloor Homes dug a borrow pit without permission.
The matter was brought before
Norfolk County Council's planning regulatory committee in May who deferred the application over
concerns about drainage and the pit's impact on underground springs and dykes.
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At the time, the Mercury spoke to Caister Parish Council chairman Tony Overill who said the pit regularly filled with water.
Bloor Homes' consulting engineers, Millard Consulting responded to concerns saying that “groundwater
level would be expected to rise
following excavation, due to a release of
artesian pressure from the overlying soil”.
Permission for 150 homes was granted last year subject to an agreement relating to affordable housing and open space. However, the borrow pit has been dug
on the site earmarked as open space
which sparked concern among local residents.
The matter will be discussed at meeting at County Hall in Norwich today and if approved means Bloor Homes will be able to extract 158,000 tonnes of sand and clay for raising ground levels on the housing site to 1.66 metres.
The site has been at the centre of controversy for almost 10 years after it was given outline planning permission in 1999.
Last year, the application for 150
homes was referred to the secretary of state for a decision following local concerns over flooding and climate change.
The application was handed back to the borough council who gave it the
go-ahead because reversing the decision would have cost thousands in compensation.
