Developer to press on in flood-prone area of Hereford

A developer that plans to build over 500 houses in an area of Hereford that saw widespread flooding last week says it intends to press on with the plan.

Bloor Homes’ outline planning application to develop land at Lower Bullingham to the southeast of the city, crossed by Lower Bullingham Lane and alongside Watery Lane, was submitted over four years ago but remains undetermined.

Herefordshire Council told the company in October that it will have to submit an environmental risk assessment for the six-hectare section, noting that part of it falls within flood zones 2 (‘medium’) and 3 (‘high’ probability).

The council said a flood risk assessment must “demonstrate that the development will be safe over its lifetime including the impacts of climate change and will not act to increase flood risk elsewhere”.

A spokesperson from Bloor Homes has now said: “We are extremely conscious of, and sensitive to, the flood events that impact upon Lower Bullingham during times of excessive rainfall.

“This is a key consideration of the flood risk assessment and sustainable drainage strategy which will accompany our forthcoming mixed-use planning application for the allocated Lower Bullingham site.”

Earlier this week a nearby resident of Lower Bullingham Lane, Alex Finley, whose property had again flooded, told the Hereford Times: “As well as putting the right stuff in place, they also have to think of how it is going to affect the people around them.”

Even before storms Gerrit and Henk this week, a woman had to abandon her car in Lower Bullingham Lane in early December, when the road was again closed off due to flooding.