NO housing developments are taking place on land at high risk of flooding in Cheshire West, according to a senior council official.

Yesterday evening (March 2), the council hosted a public webinar on the recent flooding across the borough.

In the session, questions were raised over planning approvals for larger housing developments, such as the 227-home Dane Valley scheme — which officials say is in a low and medium risk flooding area.

In response, Gemma Davies, CWAC’s Director of Economy and Housing, said: “The majority of the site being developed for housing is in what we call flood zone one — that’s the zone at the lowest risk of flooding.

“Some development is taking place in flood zone two — medium probability of flooding. No development is taking place on land considered to have a high probability of flooding or in a functional flood plain. 

“The council, as the lead local planning authority, remains very committed to ensuring that national and local policies in relation to flood risk are being followed.

“We have refreshed… members of the planning team as a direct result of these recent events.”

Following the flooding in January, Bellway insisted that engineering works meant that the construction site did not flood itself — but pictures show the surrounding areas did.

A spokesperson said: “Following the recent flooding in Northwich as a result of Storm Christoph, we can confirm that our housing development at Rose Meadow was not flooded due to the significant engineering works done to lift the development above the floodplain, thereby preventing the nearby River Dane from affecting Bellway properties.

“Both the access road and the development area have been raised well above the floodplain and, despite record river levels, this performed as designed, and construction on site continued.

“The development has received approval from the local authority and the Environment Agency, with the engineering works designed to prevent flooding to Bellway properties on the development.

“These measures were effective during the recent storms and have placed no additional impact on the surrounding area.”

Residents with questions on flooding are being urged to contact the council by emailing floodrecovery@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk, with the authority committed to answering every query in the next week.