No more homes '“ they provoke floods

THE BUILDING on Site Six should never have been given the go-ahead without a proper surface water drainage scheme instead of allowing the builders to raise the level of the site. This was the cheapest and most profitable option for the builders, however it was clear (except to the planners) that building on a flood plain without proper surface water drainage would have a major impact on flooding in the area.

I with many others attended the many meetings about Site Six prior to construction and the high risk of flooding was raised time and time again.

It is true that we had a considerable amount of rainfall in a short period, however we have had similar amounts and more in recent years before the new estates were built without this level of flooding. The water running off the new estate on to the A259 was more like a river and caused considerable damage to the surrounding houses.

It is clear the council must accept responsibility for the disruption and chaos caused as the council has a duty of care to all residents and ignoring the facts in favour of building houses without proper consideration of the high risk of building on a flood plain area without a proper drainage system is clearly a breach of duty of care.

Arun Council has issued statements praising the emergency services and they all did a fine job in a difficult situation, however I see no undertaking from Arun council to cover the cost of higher house insurance that we can now all look forward to in the future due to the increased risk.

I have also been in touch with Southern Water due to sewage

back-up problems on our estate and have been assured that all the pumping stations were working without problems but were overwhelmed by the increased amount of run-off surface water getting into the sewage system.

Alan Ambridge

West Meads