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Development can continue despite River Lugg pollution concerns

Concerns over Phosphates levels in the River Lugg has put the brakes on property development in north Herefordshire, but there is still scope for some projects to go ahead.

The River Lugg is currently failing its conservation targets for phosphate levels as a result of water pollution from sources such as sewage outlets and agricultural run-off. In order to comply with environmental legislation Herefordshire Council and Natural England is having to take a tough line on new development for fear of increasing the problem.

Herefordshire Council are working on a number of projects to help address this, including upgrading sewage works with integrated wetland systems to reduce phosphate levels entering watercourses from treated waste water. Owen Fry, a planning consultant with Berrys in Hereford, advises that whilst this is a significant limitation for many proposals it is still possible to progress applications where they meet a strict criteria set out by Herefordshire Council planning criteria, particularly for waste discharge.

A positive Appropriate Assessment will enable development to proceed where impacts are neutral i.e., where avoidance/mitigation measures included in the plan counterbalance any phosphate increase.

Discharges to drainage fields in the determined zone would be unlikely to reach the river, if the following criteria are in place:

  • The drainage field is more than 50m from the designated site boundary (or sensitive interest feature) and;
  • The drainage field is more than 40m from any surface water feature e.g. ditch, drain, watercourse and;
  • The drainage field in an area with a slope no greater than 15%, and;
  • The drainage field is in an area where the high water table groundwater depth is at least 2m below the surface at all times and;
  • The drainage field will not be subject to significant flooding e.g. it is not in flood zone 2 or 3 and;
  • There are no other known factors which would expedite the transport of phosphorus for example fissured geology, insufficient soil below the drainage pipes, known sewer flooding, conditions in the soil/geology that would cause remobilisation phosphorus, presence of mineshafts, etc and;
  • To ensure that there is no significant in combination effect, the discharge to ground should be at least 200m from any other discharge to ground.

“At Berrys we have experienced drainage experts and planning consultant in-house who can design a scheme that will meet the criteria for your development project to gain planning approval,” Owen said.

For more information, contact Owen Fry at the Hereford office on 01432 809835, email owen.fry@berrys.uk.com.