Opinion: Don't increase flood risk in Bocking Lane area

As many people already know, the bottom of Bocking Lane is prone to flooding. Local residents have already taken precautions to minimise the effect of damage on their properties.

These include: cellar pumps, diversionary channels, sandbags and barriers across driveways. However, these measures are not fully effective and for many in this area flooding remains not just a risk - it is a reality!

Much to the dismay of these residents, a recent planning proposal in this area is likely to increase this risk to their homes. The proposal is to build a house on the site of land used as a cattery.

The proposed development would replace a natural soakaway area of natural drainage grassland, including trees, with hard surface materials. Natural drainage would therefore be replaced by ground surfaces that would increase run-off from rainfall and make stream overflow more likely.

This is causing anxiety for the many elderly residents who live in this area. There have already been significant costs for residents and public/commercial organisations in dealing with the current effects of flooding.

By creating additional runoff and stream overflow this proposal increases the probability that additional costs will be needed to deal with the increased volume of water to manage.

There are also threats to wildlife from the proposal.

The proposal can be seen on the Sheffield Council website at:https://planningapps.sheffield.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=RUECLINYKDK00&activeTab=summary

If you are interested in making a comment on this please do so by the closing date of 10th June.