Water supply fears prompt first housing objections

Fears supplying water to thousands of new homes "will pose a significant risk" have led to the first planning objections from the Environment Agency.

It is the first time it has objected to new housing over water concerns.

The planned homes are all in the south of Cambridgeshire, which could see more than 50,000 new homes by 2041. Some may now be built more slowly.

Cambridge Water said it has "resilient, long-term" plans to increase supplies and is trying to reduce demand.

The Environment Agency has raised concerns about five planning applications, including at least 4,425 dwellings.

Plans to build 3,000 homes on Bourn Airfield and another 1,000 on Darwin Green on the outskirts of Cambridge are among them.

The Environment Agency said water is a "precious resource that is under pressure across the country" and that taking more from natural stores is "posing a real risk to chalk streams, river, and wetland habitats".

It added: "We have objected to some proposed development applications in the Greater Cambridge area on the basis that the water supply for these developments will pose a significant risk to our local water environment."

The East of England is the driest region in the UK and was declared to be in drought 10 months ago.

In Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire, most water is pumped from an underground chalk aquifer before being supplied to homes and businesses.

Cambridge Water, which supplies the area, said it was "working hard to reduce water demand in the region" and "focusing on reducing leakage across our network".

The company said it has "resilient, long-term" plans to increase supplies and was trying to reduce demand.

To bolster supplies, the company hopes to transfer water from neighbouring Anglian Water and is supporting proposals for a new reservoir in the Cambridgeshire Fens, which might be complete in the mid-to-late 2030s.

Cambridge Water said it was "working closely with the Environment Agency" to boost supplies and reduce the amount of water taken from underground aquifers "to protect rare chalk streams in the region".

"We're confident that we have a resilient, long-term solution to achieve this."

Brookgate, the developer behind one site that would include 425 homes near Cambridge North Station, said it was proposing a "highly sustainable" development, which would exceed water efficiency standards.

House-builder Countryside said new homes it is proposing at Bourn Airfield would be built to "high standards of water conservation".

The Conservative MP for South Cambridgeshire described house building proposals in his constituency as "reckless".

Anthony Browne said: "The problem is we've got a really rapid rate of house building in one of the driest parts of the country and we've simply run out of water.

"The district council has to go back to the drawing board and think again about how it can have a local plan that actually fits in with the reality of the environmental situation."

South Cambridgeshire District Council is considering cutting water consumption regulations in new homes from 110 litres per person per day to 80 litres.

Councillor Tumi Hawkins, a Liberal Democrat who leads on planning for the authority, said some housing plans might have to be "slowed down" but that the growth in the area "is down to market forces".

"We can't stop that. What we need to do is manage it in a sustainable way," she said.

"We will look at each case on its own merit and work with suppliers – Cambridge Water, Anglian Water – but we also must manage the growth in the best way that we can."

Helen Brookes, 48, from Linton Friends of the River Granta, said the river is "vibrant" but "very vulnerable".

"If you take too much out, then rivers like this dry up."

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