Neighbours rallying to fight Wem homes bid

People in Wem have formed a community group, called Roden Grove Estate Objectors, to fight proposals for bungalows and two-storey homes north of Soulton Road in the town.

They say the land is a problem site for flooding, and said their own gardens were often covered in surface water for weeks on end. Fears have also been raised about potential sewage problems and traffic issues, and 67 names have been added to a 400-strong petition launched two years ago to fight a similar application.

But agents behind the plans say the land is not on a flood plain and that the development will pose no further risk to nearby homes.

Connie Smith, 74, of Sun Grove, said on behalf of the action group: "People are understandably up in arms about it.

"My garden backs on to it and is two feet below the site, it is always getting flooded and can take weeks to clear – we've had to have sandbags at the bottom at times.

Pressure

"It's near impossible to get insurance because of it so it just seems mad to build houses somewhere they know will flood. The council may be under pressure to build houses but the damage could end up costing more than any fines if they don't build them.

"The builders and developers will build the homes and then leave us with all of these problems and who will pay for the damage?" she said.

"The report says that there are a few problems and then says that there will be solutions, but they won't make a real difference. We know it will have a devastating effect on those homes and ours. Of course there is always an element of not in my back yard, but this is much more than that."

Nigel Thorns Planning Consultancy said in document supporting the bid:

"The site is shown to be outside the Environment Agency's Indicative Floodplain which shows the 0.1 per cent annual probability flooding and an extract of the Environment Agency mapping is shown below. There will be no detrimental impact upon any future occupiers of the development through flood risk and the development of the site will not result in the loss of flood storage capacity."

It will be discussed by Wem Town Council on July 31 from 7pm in the Senior Club on Chapel Street.