High Court clears way for floodplain development in Somerset despite failed test — The Guardian

The High Court in the United Kingdom has cleared the way for the construction of 190 homes on a floodplain near the village of Yatton in North Somerset, England. The project concerns a site in flood zone 3a — the highest risk category before land is classified as functional floodplain.

As The Guardian reports, developer Persimmon Homes was granted permission even though the project failed the “sequential test”. This procedure is intended to establish whether alternative sites with a lower flood risk are available for development. The inspector identified 12 such sites.

The court’s position

The Environment Agency objected to the project because of flood risks. However, the High Court agreed that, despite the failed sequential test, the inspector was entitled to take into account the broader benefits of the development and assess whether it could be safe throughout its lifetime.

Charles Banner, the lawyer representing Persimmon Homes in the case brought by the local council, called the ruling significant for the country. His chambers, Keating Chambers, said it would be of considerable interest to the planning and development sector.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Local authorities’ response

Tessa Munt, chair of the cross-party parliamentary group on flooding and affected communities, said the decision was a dangerous use of loopholes in planning rules. According to the publication, participants at a flood resilience conference agreed to seek legislative changes to prevent the ruling from becoming a nationwide precedent.

Munt is due to meet Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook and ask for changes to the National Planning Policy Framework. Annemieke Waite, North Somerset Council’s cabinet member for planning and the environment, accused Persimmon Homes of exploiting a legal loophole.

Persimmon Homes said the Yatton project had been carefully considered at a public hearing and approved by an independent inspector. The company also said that flood risk had been assessed in detail during the planning process.