Flood Risk & Ecology
Flood Risk
The River Wye passes within 600m of the Site to the West. The River Wye joins the River Severn 35km south west of the Site at Thornwell. The River Severn then discharges into the Severn Estuary. There is an unnamed ordinary watercourse located approximately 50m to the north of the Site boundary and flows in a westerly direction, discharging to the River Wye.
The proposed site is identified as lying outside of the fluvial and tidal flood risk zone, according to the Environment Agency’s (EA) published flood map for planning.
The EA information indicates that the level of flood risk to the site corresponds to a Flood Zone 1 – low probability of flooding. This flood zone has less than a 1 in 1000-year annual probability of flooding.
The National Planning Policy Framework Planning Practice Guidance states that all types of development are suitable for this flood zone.
No other sources of flooding have been identified which are considered to pose a significant risk to the development.
Drainage
Surface Water
Current legislation and guidance require developers to manage surface water run-off from new development, to mitigate flood risk to the site and surrounding area and to provide a sustainable means of disposing of run-off from impermeable areas of the site.
Surface water run-off from the new development will be managed via the design of a sustainable drainage system (SuDS). The possible drainage options considered for the site include the use of infiltration methods and discharging to a local watercourse or public sewer network, with further technical work being undertaken to establish the most appropriate strategy for the discharge of surface water runoff from the development.
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It is proposed to incorporate a variety of SuDS features throughout the development proposals, which will provide ecological and water quality benefits through the dilution, filtration and settlement of solid particles.
Foul Drainage
A new foul water drainage network will be constructed to accommodate the requirements of the proposed development. The new network will collect and convey foul water discharge from the development to the existing public sewer network.
Ecology
The site mostly comprises improved grassland with native species hedgerows, scrub, tall ruderal
vegetation and amenity grassland. The site is located at the northern edge of Ross-on-Wye adjacent to the neighbourhood area of Greytree. The majority of the site, particularly the central area, comprises improved grassland which is grazed by horses. A small area of amenity grassland is present to the south of the Site dominated by perennial rye-grass with creeping buttercup and dandelion frequently present and broad-leaved dock occasionally recorded.
A hawthorn hedgerow is present in the south eastern corner of the Site where it encloses a neighbouring property. Mature trees along the northern and western boundary are likely to contain potential roosting features for bats. Hedgerows along the northern site boundary are suitable for dormice.
There are no aquatic features on-site. Two large waterbodies are present to the north and north east of the site, beyond the stream which is considered to act as a barrier to the movement of amphibians. Grassland, scrub and hedgerows provide suitable habitat for use during terrestrial phase of life-cycle. During preliminary ecological surveys undertaken in 2018 Goshawk were seen in the woods adjacent to the woodland. A detailed bird survey was conducted to determine the status of goshawks onsite. No evidence of goshawks breeding on or using the site was observed, and the presence of buzzards indicates that the area is not being used by goshawks as the two species cannot co-exist. As such, no further goshawk surveys are considered necessary.
By integrating ecological considerations into the design process, we propose to provide enhancements on site in terms of habitat type and diversity as well as opportunities for protected species, enabling the delivery of a minimum of 10% Biodiversity Net Gain across the Site.