Two councils and the Environment Agency to object to development due to water sustainability concerns
Planning officers have recommended not approving a 1,000-home Barratt scheme in Cambridge because of concerns over the water supply.
A report says plans for phases two and three of the Darwin Green development have failed to demonstrate that an adequate and sustainable water supply can be provided.
The Environment Agency has also opposed Darwin Green development due to concerns about the impact of increased demand on the water supply that will be created by the development of 1,000 new homes, a secondary and primary school and retail facilities.
Over the summer, it said that growth in Cambridge Water Company’s supply area cannot be supplied sustainably or “without posing an unacceptable risk of deterioration to the water environment”.
The actual binding decision on the planning application will be made by a planning inspector as Barratt lodged an appeal after both Cambridge City Council and South Cambridgeshire Council failed to decide the application within the statutory period.
But the councils are still required to decide on its stance as part of the process, with the planning officers’ report going before councillors at both authorities today.
In a report, the councils said they would have refused the planning application, had it not been referred to the government’s planning inspectorate due to non-determination.
Barratt Homes has been forced to demolish and rebuild approximately 90 homes delivered during earlier phases of the Darwin Green development after finding faults in their foundations.
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