Town 'will be swamped with sewage' if new homes built

Residents of a market town fear they will be "swamped with sewage" if plans to build 375 homes are approved.

Newent residents have said they are currently putting up with the sight and stench of sewage bubbling out of manholes and running down the street.

Now, hundreds of people fear the plans by developer Robert Hitchins for almost 60 acres of land south of Gloucester Street will exacerbate the problem.

Consultants working on the scheme said the proposals demonstrate that a high quality, responsive and sustainable development is achievable.

Forest of Dean district planners have yet to decide the proposals but a public notice issued by them said the scheme does not comply with their policies for Newent.

Tanker lorries are allegedly coming and going on a regular basis from the sewage works to mitigate the lack of capacity in the storage tanks.

Resident Clare Stone said: "In Newent we have sewage bubbling up through the manhole covers in the street, raw sewage, regular discharges into local watercourses, the service isn't there."

The outline planning application being considered by the district council is for up to 375 homes, a first form entry primary school including nursery, up to 83,958.5 sq ft of employment land and a centre which could have shops, cafes and a hot food takeaway.

The new estate would provide a range of one to five bedroom homes.

But residents fear the sewage system, which is already at capacity, will not cope with the extra houses.

They said they are also at a loss as to why the water firm Severn Trent has done a U-turn and withdrawn its objection to the scheme.

Jeff and Judith Seers are among the residents who have objected to the proposals.

Mrs Seers said: “I do not believe that the situation has changed in any way that Severn Trent can now honestly say the facilities in Newent will be able to cope with any extra pressure of 375 more houses when it is so obviously struggling already.”

Fellow resident, Chris Moore, claimed Severn Trent had previously said the system could not cope with the new houses then it suddenly changed its objection and instead wanted a condition on the proposals.

“They have got to expand the facilities," she said.

"They can’t say to the population half of you have a shower Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and the rest Thursday, Friday and Saturday."

Severn Trent said it endeavours to work with developers to ensure drainage meets national standards and to agree points of connection onto the network.

It added there are occasions where, if it is aware that improvements to the network or treatment works are required, it may request a planning application is delayed until it has made said improvements.

A Severn Trent spokesperson said: “While water companies can raise concerns and request changes to planning applications for new developments, legally, we have no say in if a development can go ahead or not.

“However, what we can do is look into what impact any new developments may have on our network, and if we feel there are any concerns, we will discuss this with the developer, while considering if any network upgrades are needed.”

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