Flooding in Staines labelled a ‘major concern’ in letter to government

The risk of flooding in Staines has been labelled a “major concern” by the council’s leader, as she has hit back at a government intervention in planning for homes in the borough. A last-minute intervention ^[1] ahead of a key meeting meeting this month saw a letter sent to the council saying Michael Gove directed the council not to withdraw its local plan.

The council nonetheless voted to pause its plan again, a move since approved by the government inspector allocated to it, and a response has been sent to the housing minister. Councillor Joanne Sexton (Independent Spelthorne Group, Ashford ^[2] East) said the authority, where she became leader after local elections ^[3] in May 2023, had been preparing its plan for 9,000 homes in the borough through “an unprecedented period of instability in the planning system”.

She said during this time “major reforms” were being proposed by central government “which seem to change with the wind”. Her letter to housing minister Rachel Maclean said the option of withdrawing the local plan was put forward at a meeting of the full council ^[4] on Thursday, September 14 because this may be a quicker way to get a plan through, rather than carry on with examination of the current draft.

Find out more here about how a council’s abandoned home-building scheme could impact on residents ^[6]

Hearings ^[7] into the plan started in May this year, but were paused in June while the council brought new members up to speed. Opening hearings heard concerns about the impact that putting more than half of the new planned homes in Staines ^[8] would have on the market town.

Cllr Sexton said in her letter: “I, along with local members, also have a major concern in relation to potential flood risk in Staines which is where over 50 per cent of our new homes ^[9] are planned to be provided.” She said an outstanding statement of common ground from the Environment Agency on flooding concerns could still end up being “a key issue of soundness”, the term inspectors use to say if they think a plan will or won’t work.

She also asked why a timeline for policy changes that are due from central government has still not been published. Cllr Sexton attached a list of more than 60 local planning authorities that have now paused or withdrawn ^[10] their local plans “as a result of this chaos and mixed messaging”.

She asked if the minister was “mistaken” when she declared in her letter that Spelthorne would be left with one of the oldest local plans in the country and highlighted other areas where the Secretary of State ^[11] had not intervened, including in Basildon and Castle Point. On Spelthorne not being left with one of the oldest plans in the country, Cllr Sexton asked: “If you concede this point, does it follow that you should rescind the intervention or is it your intention to intervene in the other councils with plans older than 2009?”

The local plan is the latest in Surrey to run into issues, with Tandridge set to put an end to its plan ^[12] despite having spent £3.5m on it, and having first submitted it to government in 2019. Cllr Sexton “took issue” with the last-minute nature of the letter from government, which came less than four hours before the meeting took place.

She said: “This is completely unreasonable and unacceptable. At the very least you could have formally advised us earlier that you were minded to intervene so that we would have had the opportunity to understand and respond to your concerns ahead of the council meeting ^[13].”

She said the council would seek further legal advice on the intervention, and would send a “more detailed formal response” on the intervention in due course. Referring to what she called a “total disparity” in the approach, Cllr Sexton also referred to a letter sent in April to Kwasi Kwarteng ^[14], Spelthorne’s MP.

In that letter, Ms Maclean said the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities was unable to discuss the details of Spelthorne’s plan ^[15] in order for the examination of the plan to “remain fully independent”. Cllr Sexton said: “You are saying that you are unable to discuss the plan, but can unceremoniously intervene and stop the council deciding their own fate regarding the plan? Can you please explain the total disparity here?”

In his response agreeing to a further pause, the inspector, Jameson Bridgwater, asked the council to address issues he had raised at the hearings “in particular flood risk and its potential implications” on sites where homes may be built.

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References

^{^} last-minute intervention (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} Ashford (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} became leader after local elections (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} council (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} New rock climbing centre to bring adventure to Surrey’s Heart Shopping Centre (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} how a council’s abandoned home-building scheme could impact on residents (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} Hearings (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} Staines (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} new homes (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} paused or withdrawn (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} Secretary of State (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} end to its plan (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} council meeting (democracy.spelthorne.gov.uk)
^{^} Kwasi Kwarteng (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} Spelthorne’s plan (www.getsurrey.co.uk)
^{^} here. (data.reachplc.com)