New housing developments could go ahead for areas where utility bosses say there is not the infrastructure to cope – as council chiefs set out a tough stance.
New housing developments could go ahead for areas where utility bosses say there is not the infrastructure to cope – as council chiefs set out a tough stance.
Anglian Water has said its views should be taken into account with planning applications – and that issues such as lack of capacity in its network ought to be considered and listened to.
But South Holland District Council (SHDC) has set out a robust approach in response and does not want Anglian Water to get in the way of housebuilding.
Officials said that if the water company raises concerns a site which has already been allocated for development in the South and East Lincolnshire Local Plan (2019) and the East Lindsey Local Plan Core Strategy (2018), then this will not be considered reasonable.
Leaders said that Anglian Water should have provided the necessary infrastructure and improvements to sites which have already been allocated for development.
Officials said listening to objections from the utility firm would hinder the council’s ability to meet its five-year land supply target – and it is already falling behind this.
Members of the council’s planning committee were updated on the council’s stance towards Anglian Water at a meeting on Wednesday, June 24.
The firm is not a statutory consultee in the planning process but regularly comments on planning applications.
Anglian Water is increasingly requesting conditions are attached to new housing developments – urging that plans should not go ahead until it has given written confirmation to the council that there is sufficient capacity available.
However, SHDC leaders say that if Anglian Water makes an objection to an unallocated site, it will have to provide detailed evidence to prove that there is insufficient capacity and clear evidence that sufficient capacity will become available through network upgrades within three years of the planning application being approved.
If the company cannot do this, then officials said it will have to provide information on the possible means of effectively dealing with the treatment and disposal of waste water that were not ‘headroom’ dependent – such as on-site private waste treatment plants – otherwise the council will not consider these concerns to be reasonable.
