LAND which was under water ten weeks ago at a notorious flooding area of Witney has been given planning permission for 15 new homes.

West Oxfordshire District Council has approved the scheme, near the corner of Crawley Road and Hailey Road, despite warnings and fears of worse flooding from residents and one of its own councillors.

A key factor, however, is that the Environment Agency did not object because the site, at 1A Crawley Road, is not actually within the River Windrush floodplain.

Yet the property next door, owned by the county council, is still not back in use because of July flood damage, caused by a massive surge of run-off water which the drains in Hailey Road could not cope with.

Resident Malcolm Willis, who lives opposite, is unable to return home while his property is being dehumidified.

He and his wife are still living in temporary accommodation in the town.

He said this week: "We were flooded just like many others on July 20.

"But ours was not as bad as the land opposite, where the properties were under three feet of water.

"I've been here for ten years, and there's been flooding six or seven times.

"Giving planning permission for so many new homes seems crazy to me.

"I couldn't believe it."

Mr Willis, an engineering lecturer at Oxford College of Further Education, was among 11 objectors to the scheme put forward by Empire Homes, of Old Chalford, Chipping Norton.

Residents listed a variety of problems, including flooding and precedent for further development.

District councillor for Witney North Ward, Richard Langridge, voted against the scheme at the lowlands planning sub-committee.

He told the Gazette: "I am still concerned.

"The council does take very seriously the issue of flooding in the Hailey Road area. It could be dangerous.

"But we are in a difficult situation. This site is not within the floodplain, and it would have been difficult to reject it because of the chances of the development going ahead on appeal and us having to pay the costs."

He added that the council urgently needed to sort out the surface water and drainage problems in the area - in July, residents off Hailey Road were able to canoe across the flood water.

Empire Homes has permission to demolish the existing house at 1A Crawley Road and develop the land. One of the conditions is that work will have to be carried out to deal effectively with surface water drainage.

A spokesman for the developers, who did not want to be named, said the site was a natural basin, and earthworks would be undertaken to raise it.

Continued....