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12
Apr 2022
Bishop Monkton residents fear 125 new homes will exacerbate flooding
Villagers in Bishop Monkton say climate change has led to increased flooding in their village over the past decade — and two housing developments, with a total of 125 new homes, will exacerbate the problem.
Bishop Monkton Action Group was formed two years ago to raise awareness in the village about a 98-home development on Moor Road by Alfa Homes and 25-homes by Kebbell Developments on Knaresborough Road.
The group's members are residents Kenneth Barker, Jonathan Beer, Harvey Bigg, Martin Minett, Raj Selvarajan and Bob Upton.
Both sites in the village, which is five miles south of Ripon, were allocated for development in Harrogate Borough Council's Local Plan, which means they are likely to be approved in some form.
But the action group is holding out hope that they will be dismissed outright because surface water at the two sites will run off into Bishop Monkton Beck, a small river that runs through the village.
Major implications
The group says freak flood events are becoming more common in the village.
One resident submitted an objection to both developments that said from 2011 to 2020 the village faced nine days of floods, which was the same as the previous 50 years combined.
A spokesperson for the action group said
The Alfa Homes proposal
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Flood risk assessment
A flood risk assessment submitted on behalf of Alfa Homes says surface water from the development will be discharged into Bishop Monkton Beck, which the Environment Agency classes as a river.
The developer said it has factored in a 30% increase in rainfall due to climate change but the risk of flooding would remain low.
A flood assessment submitted on behalf of the smaller Kebbel Developments scheme said surface water run-off into the river "will not increase flood risk elsewhere."
That scheme will store water in a tank before it is discharged into the river.
However, members of the action group fear the two schemes, as well as a plan to increase the number of caravans on a local holiday site, could make flood events like those seen in 2015 and 2020 worse.
The two applications have almost 300 objections between them, with many people citing fears about flooding in the village.
North Yorkshire County Council, which is the flood authority, said HBC should refuse the application on flood grounds. It said:
Mike Mulligan, director at Kebbell Developments, sent the following response:
Afla Homes did not send a response at the time of publication
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