Diss and District Neighbourhood Plan could lead to more floods, warns environmental scientist

An environmental scientist from Diss has warned the town could be susceptible to more floods if hundreds of new homes are given the go ahead.

Francois Jean-Paul, who worked as an environmental adviser to the French National Centre for Scientific Research, has said the current Diss and District Neighbourhood Plan (DDNP) threatens to put more homes underwater, unless preventative measures are put in place first.

In a letter posted to residents in Diss, the 59-year-old pointed to the DDNP’s Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA), which looks at flood risks for the 750 new homes that are expected to be built in the town over the next few years.

Mr Jean-Paul, who moved to Diss from France last year, said: “The SEA was actually checking that future housing would not be at risk of flooding.

“The report prioritises the reduction of flood risk for roads that were flooded; what is shocking is that there is not a word about helping the houses that have already been flooded.”

At Christmas, homeowners and business owners were forced to barricade their properties with sandbags after heavy rainfall resulted in severe flooding across the region, forcing some people to abandon their homes and causing damage running into thousands of pounds.

With many of the new homes proposed for Diss are set to be built in the more elevated north side of the town, Mr Jean-Paul has urged planners to consider a soakaway, which would effectively dispose of excess rainwater running down from the new developments.

“Priority should be given to a soakaway for rain water,” he said. “However, the SEA doesn’t mention this, which opens the way for developers to use the simplest option: to drain the rainwater into the river.

“With such a strategy, the building of 750 new houses would cause higher flooding if the same conditions prevail as at Christmas.”

The DDNP is currently in its final consultation process, allowing residents to share their thoughts on the proposed sites of the new homes in the town and the wider area.

In response to the issues raised by Mr Jean-Paul, town mayor Eric Taylor, who also sits on the DDNP steering group, said: “Any feedback we get will be looked at and taken into account before we reach any conclusions.

“As far as the flood risks are concerned, there are lots of areas in the plan that talk about this.

“We are trying to ensure that nothing will get any worse and, where possible, are improved.

“We are currently at a consultation stage, and we are listening and will take into account the feedback we receive.”

The DDNP outlines how Diss and the wider area will be developed in the coming years.

Thousands of homes need to be built in Norfolk over the coming years to deal with a housing shortage in the county.

Parishes across Norfolk have all been asked to come up with their own neighbourhood plans to determine where the new homes will go.

It has allocated a number of sites that would be suitable for housing and other developments in Diss, Roydon, Burston, Shimpling, Scole, Palgrave, Stuston and Brome, and Oakley.

Alongside flooding, people in Diss have been asking how the new homes – and new residents – will have an impact on traffic congestion, school allocations and other issues.

The fourth and final consultation period for the DDNP runs until August 18.

To view the plans in more detail and leave feedback, click here.