Controversial plans for 14 new homes in Carlisle have been given the green light.
Citadel Estates asked for permission to build the estate in Moorhouse and members of the city council’s development control committee approved the request.
The estate, on land off Monkhill Road, drew objections from residents, concerned about the risk of flooding.
Councillor Trevor Allison, who represents the area, attended the meeting to relate people’s fears. He said they did not have confidence that any conditions imposed on the developer to prevent flooding would be enforced.
Cllr Allison said homeowners in Moorhouse have taken matters into their own hands to avert flood damage as ditches for water drainage off the highway used to be looked after by the river authority but it has since disbanded.
He said: “In my 18 years as a councillor, I have been called to more flood events in Moorhouse properties than any other community in my patch.
“Residents along this stretch of road have spent many thousands of pounds of their own money defending their properties from flooding, with little apparent concern from the authorities until now.
“Despite all this trauma, with the support of the flood authority, the proposal is to link the development site into the same highway drainage system.”
He urged members to defer making a decision on the plans so that they can be scrutinised independently.
But Doug Coyle, an officer of Cumbria County Council, told members: “We’re well aware of the flooding that takes place in the village, as part of that, we’ve actually investigated the water course in that location.
“The development site itself actually drains through the highways system in the road which is actually conveying the watercourse. So the contribution to the watercourse is from that site.”
Planning permission is already in place for nine homes and Mr Coyle said that drainage plans in the revised scheme would be for the betterment of the current set up.
However, the increase of the number of homes is also a concern to residents of Moorhouse.
An objector, speaking on behalf of a number of concerned residents said: “On any view, this is a very dense development which is out of place.
“This development will not in any way improve the village as claimed, it will destroy the character and feel of the village. It will create a village within a village.”
Councillors voted to accept the officer’s recommendation that the 14 homes are approved after quizzing the county council’s officer on the flood risks. They were satisfied with the argument that proposals could actually lessen the risks of flooding in the area.