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20
Nov
Sewage capacity fears remain over plans for 60 homes in Bishop Monkton
Yorkshire Water has been criticised over its reasoning for objecting to plans for 60 homes in Bishop Monkton.
Avant Homes lodged plans with North Yorkshire Council to build the homes on land just off Moor Road in the village.
The developer submitted a previous proposal for 88 homes at the same site in May 2023, which were withdrawn, and re-tabled the amended plans in October.
Yorkshire Water objected to the plans this month. In a letter to planning officials, it said planting trees as part of the proposal could “seriously jeopardise” the firm’s ability to manage the public sewage network.
Reuben Thorton, who wrote Yorkshire Water’s objection, said the tree-planting would be within just five metres of the network and advised Avant to amend the site layout to allow for “adequate protection of the sewers”.
But a representative of the Bishop Monkton Action Group (BMAG) told the Stray Ferret Yorkshire Water had objected on "incomplete grounds".
The BMAG spokesperson said they understood why the tree placement was significant, but said the firm has “not actually got any idea about whether the sewers can cope with 60 new homes”.
In an email to the council in July 2023, seen by the Stray Ferret, Yorkshire Water admitted Bishop Monkton’s sewers were nearly at full capacity. The email says:
We do acknowledge that the network is getting close to capacity, and we are taking steps to improve the resilience of the network.
However, Yorkshire Water also said reports of sewage escapes or restricted toilet use during 2022 and 2023 were mainly attributed to blockages rather than sewer capacity.
Residents at the public meeting in Bishop Monkton.
Bishop Monkton residents 'let down' by Yorkshire Water, MP says
Sir Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative MP for Wetherby and Easingwold – which Bishop Monkton falls into – also raised concerns over the sewer network in the House of Commons last week.
He said Bishop Monkton residents have been "let down" by Yorkshire Water:
I have had had several meetings in one village, Bishop Monkton, since I became the Member of Parliament. I have spoken to local people, the parish council, local councillor Nick Brown and the flood groups. Again, promises were made, but we are not getting anywhere. Bishop Monkton has been let down by Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency for too long.
There is a new planning application for 60 new homes, and they say that the water system can cope with it. It cannot — that is blatantly obvious.
When these big developments go in, Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency should make them do water alleviation work through soakaways and slowing the flow, rather than just saying, ‘well, according to our models, it can cope.’
Sir Alec said sewage flows down the street of the “small, picturesque, beautiful village” despite Yorkshire Water claiming there is nothing wrong with the network.
'We have removed roots and cleared gullies'
The Stray Ferret contacted Yorkshire Water about the fresh plans. We also asked what work, if any, has been done to improve Bishop Monkton’s sewage infrastructure since May 2023.
A spokesperson said:
The application is on land allocated by the council for development, and we are not a statutory consultee on applications of this nature and unable to refuse connection to our network. Under the application, the developer will be separating surface water and foul waste, limiting the amount of additional wastewater entering the network.
We have removed roots and cleaned gullies that were causing temporary blockages into the network during heavy rainfall. We have investigated the sewers in the area and are looking at options to add increased storage to alleviate issues during heavy rainfall, but this would need to be supported through our price review process to secure investment.
This is not the first time BMAG has raised concerns over Bishop Monkton's sewer network.
In a 26-page letter to the government's Planning Inspectorate last December, the group said plans to build 23 homes on Knaresborough Road would "threaten the sustainability of our village".
BMAG was concerned over the impact on drainage and sewage, as well as a “historic lack of investment” in the area’s sewer system.
North Yorkshire Council will make a decision on the 60-home plans at a later date.
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