'Berlin Wall' claim over fence in flooding row

People living on Redhill Road in Stone say their properties have suffered because of flooding, and they fear the recent planning permission granted for new railings to replace the fence hasn’t taken their concerns into account.

The fence was put up without planning permission and was refused after a retrospective application, which has led to the application for the railings being submitted.

Resident Roy Large said: “Our concern – even with the [railings] – is that flooding will continue.

“There’s been no professional evidence to support that there would be no flooding, so we’re taking the view that there will be.”

He said there had been no flooding in the area within living memory, prior to the fence being installed alongside the pavement in April 2019.

After the fence was put up Mr Large said locals had witnessed four instances of flooding along the road.

He said there was no need for a fence or railings, and instead would prefer a hedgerow.

“The solution is to reinstate the hawthorn hedge, and that would appeal to everybody," said Mr Large.

“A hawthorn hedge is a good security measure, if that’s what they need.”

Councillor Jill Hood, speaking at Stafford Borough Council’s planning committee meeting where plans to install the railings were approved, said she was worried about the scheme.

“This has been a fairytale from the beginning – unfortunately it’s turned into nightmare,” she said.

Councillor Hood cited concerns about the way in which questions on the planning application had been answered and said she thinks a raised mound (known as a bund) behind the current fence is preventing the natural run-off of water into a nearby brook.

“When water comes down, the ferocity of the water meant it would go straight across the field and down into Scotch Brook, but it now doesn’t do that because the road brings it around to the fence where it can’t find a natural get-out," she said.

“I’m extremely worried about this. I feel the residents have been failed because a flood report hasn’t been done.

“Until something’s done about that – we call it a bund – and the applicant endears himself to the rest of the estate – not have this harsh wall, it’s almost like a Berlin Wall – have something natural.

“And to think he’s going to take out the rest of the hedgerow – absolutely disgraceful. It’s an ancient hedgerow, it shouldn’t be allowed.”

A planning officer’s report said the planned railings are being put up in a low-risk flood zone.

Their report stated: “The proposed railings are located within Flood Zone 1 which is classified to be at low risk of flooding.

“Notwithstanding given recent flooding events in the area and neighbour concerns raising the issue of flooding, the Lead Local Flood Authority have been consulted on the application.

“It was considered that the use of steel railings will allow the flow of flood water through the structure and as such was found acceptable.”

The report continued: “The proposed railings would sit forward and adjacent to an existing hedgerow, shrubs and trees at the site.

“There is no indication from the details submitted that any hedgerow or trees are proposed to be removed as part of the works.

“The tree officer has however requested a pre-commencement condition requiring an arboricultural method statement be submitted.”

Stone Town Council raised no objections to the application, provided the ground is graded away from the fence, but called on the applicant to exercise expedience in completing the work due to the issues caused.

Neighbour Nick Turner has had three floods at his property since moving into his house in 2016.

He said: “We’ve had three floods – two have caused extensive damage.

“We had a conservatory installed, it was only a week old and it got completely flooded – it completely floods the conservatory, the garden and the basement.

“Our costs of insurance have been over £30,000 from those three floods and we’re coming to the point where the insurance company are saying we’re borderline uninsurable.

“Our premium went up from £300 per year to over £1,000 per year.”

Mr Turner said he was disappointed with the decision of the planning committee – which approved the new railings by a vote of four to two.

He said: “An iron railing fence is better than a solid wooden fence, but we just want reassurance that it will allow the water to pass through sufficiently.”

Mr Turner said he started having problems in October 2019 after the fence was installed, as it prevents water from flowing onto agricultural land behind his house.

“We saw all this water coming down the road, we couldn’t believe our eyes, and we put two and two together that the wooden fence was acting as a solid dam,” he said.

Mr Turner is also frustrated that the planning application for the railings stated there was no risk of flooding – despite his experiences to the contrary – and called for a professional risk assessment.

He said: “We don’t want to flood again. We go through every winter on tenterhooks.

“It’s affecting our quality of life, we can’t go away because we’re worried about being flooded.

“We like the area, we like the people, but we’re really struggling with this continued anxiety of thinking the next time it rains we’re going to flood.

His wife, Debbie Turner, said the couple want the boundary returning to how it was when they first moved into the property and backed her husband’s call for an expert assessment of the food risk.

She said images of the flooding, which were shown to the council’s planning committee, brought back painful memories.

“It’s devastating. Every time I see those photos it triggers the evenings [when it flooded].

“It’s so upsetting. The more time that goes by when you don’t flood the better you start feeling and then when you see the pictures it brings it right back to you.

“We just can’t accept that there’s not been a proper flood risk assessment.

“Is this site within an area at risk of flooding? Yes, it is. 100 per cent. And nobody can disagree.”