Kingswood Parish
Flood Risk Review
Kingswood village is situated north of Wickwar, off the B4060. In recent years the village has been subject to significant expansion with the development of some 68 new houses: 41 along Tyndale View (completed in 2010); and 27 within Chestnut Park (completed in 2014). In 2014 a further proposal for development of an additional 59 new dwellings across a 2 hectare site immediately adjacent to their allotments, playing fields and village hall was giving them cause for concern. The village had experienced issues of increased surface water flooding as a result of the previous 2 phases of development and were thus, understandably concerned about the impact of a further 59 homes.
About the project.
Calm Engineering was appointed by Kingswood Parish Council to undertake a detailed flood risk review of the proposed new development of 59 houses and to inspect and review the implemented drainage schemes for the previous developments.
The key aim of the project was to provide recommendations to the parish council on the suitability of the proposed drainage strategy to effectively manage flood risk. As part of this assessment we undertook a detailed desk top study to review all existing reports and assessments in the vicinity of the site, as well as undertaking a detailed walkover survey.
The site lies in the middle of a relatively steep catchment, with greenfield areas uphill and residential development downhill. The soils are predominantly clay so surface water infiltration is minimal and overland flow routes are predominant. This was evidenced by the ditch systems and water-logging issues experienced across the area.
We concluded that there were considerable gaps within the application submission with regards to the understanding of the existing drainage system (ditches and overland flow routes), its connectivity and condition, historical flooding incidents and potential flood risk to the development itself and adjacent sites.
The application was refused and eventually went to appeal later in the year. Calm Engineering was asked to appear as an Expert Witness on behalf of Kingswood Parish Council. We provided all supporting documentation for the appeal and liaised with the barrister on the key issues to be addressed. During the 3 day process, we successfully negotiated changes to the drainage scheme for the benefit of the village and the biodiversity of the various existing ditch systems, without ever needing to step onto the witness stand.
