NEW conditions have been suggested on a planning application which would see owners demolish and rebuild a replica of their Weaverham home of 20 years.

The owners of Wharf Cottage, Sandy Lane, say they are ‘living under the threat of flooding’, leading them to seek permission to demolish their home ‘and rebuild it to the same plan and design’ at ‘a level of 600mm [60cm, 2 ft]’.

Now, the Canal and River Trust are seeking to add conditions to the project in order to ‘protect the Weaver Navigation’.

Its letter to planners says: “The Weaver Navigation passes to the north boundary of the application site for which the Trust is navigation authority.

“There is the potential that, during the demolition and construction works, accidental pollution from dust/wind blown waste/silty run-off or debris waste could impact upon the water quality and navigation of the waterway, unless sufficient precautions are taken to ensure that construction activities are appropriately managed on site.

“We therefore request that the potential contamination of and protection measures for the waterway during construction should be addressed as part of a Construction Environment Management Plan for the site, which could be secured via condition.”

The letter adds that the plan should provide detail on how building materials will be stored, where machinery movement will be, and demonstrate how blown-waste will avoid going into the waterway.

Earlier this month, Weaverham Parish Council suggested that the new house could incorporate a ‘raft design’.

Peter Wilkinson, Council Vice Chair, said: “If these flood events are getting more severe and frequent, there’s no guarantee this will be sufficient to what the situation is in 20 years time.”

You can view the plans on Cheshire West council’s planning portal using the reference ‘21/00391/FUL’.