New Gypsy and Traveller homes approved on Cambridgeshire village edge despite flood risk

New homes for Gypsy and Traveller families are set to be created on the edge of a Cambridgeshire village.

Councillors at Fenland District Council have approved plans to create two new pitches on land off Seadyke Bank, near Murrow, where four mobile homes will be stationed.

Documents submitted to the district council said the plans for the site would “make much needed accommodation available”.

Two previous applications to station four static caravans at the site were refused by the district council due to flood safety concerns.

Planning officers told councillors at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday (April 30) that the site is in flood zone three and at the highest risk of flooding.

However, they recommended the application for the homes should be approved, due to a lack of plans for new Gypsy and Traveller homes in the area.

The officer report said: “It is considered that the proposal is acceptable in principle, on balance, by contributing towards achieving the required supply.

“It is acknowledged that there is a policy conflict in respect of flood risk by virtue of the site’s location in flood zone three.

“However, it is considered that this is sufficiently mitigated by the measures set out in the submitted flood risk assessment.

“Additionally, the proposal is considered to meet the exceptions test by making a direct contribution to an identified need for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation within Fenland.”

Councillor Roy Gerstner said it was a “difficult one” to decide, highlighting that concerns had been raised by the parish council and Internal Drainage Board.

Councillor Elisabeth Sennitt Clough asked if any “practical works” were proposed to mitigate the flood risk of the site.

She said: “I understand there is a shortage of land, but really my concerns are about the fact that it is in flood zone three and the reality about what that could present in the future.”

Officers said measures recommended by the Environment Agency were proposed to be made a condition of any planning approval.

These measures included making sure the floor level of the mobile homes will be three metres above the ground, and for the families to sign up to the Environment Agency flood line service.

Councillor Charlie Marks said: “Everybody has to live somewhere, it is a good usage of land, if you go down there and look at it, what else is that land going to be used for? I am fully in support of this.”

When the decision was put to a vote the committee agreed unanimously to approve the application.