In 2015, groundworks started out on Northstowe Phase 1. Shortly afterwards ponds began to dry up and fish died. in December 2015, I first notified SCDC planners of the environmental damage that was occurring. Since then residents have been asking (to no avail) for an explanation and for mitigation to be put in place.
Local residents want answers!
- Was the collapse in groundwater permitted in the original Northstowe planning permission? If not, have the groundworks deviated from that original permission?
- Has SCDC investigated the works carried out on Northstowe to ensure no deviation from the planning permission has occurred?
- What mechanism did the planning permission contain for filling Northstowe’s amenity lakes?
- Why has the Northstowe planning process not given Longstanton adequate environmental protection?
- By December 2017, the kingfisher pond was empty but the Phase 1 lake was full. This lake was supposedly designed to be filled with surface water from Phase 1. At the time very few houses had been built so there would have been little surface water from the development itself. So where did the water come from to fill up the lake?
- Currently, the Phase 2 lake has plenty of water and there is standing water nearby despite very little rainfall. Where has this water come from?
- Why are Councillors ignoring the disparity in water levels between Longstanton and Northstowe?
- In 2016, the Environment Agency wrote to SCDC and queried ‘whether the drainage scheme has altered from that originally agreed’. They also advised that ‘the applicant does have responsibility to correct or mitigate against any local effects that their dewatering is having’. Damaging local effects are obvious, as illustrated by the photos on your screen — why then has this advice from the Environment Agency been ignored?
- The H R Wallingford report has proved that the groundwater collapse was not caused by a lack of rainfall. Why then have the recommendations of this report still not been implemented?
- Why does SCDC consider the environmental damage inflicted on Longstanton to be ‘insignificant’?
- When have members of SCDC Cabinet come to Longstanton to witness the environmental damage and to discuss mitigation options with the Parish Council and local residents?
- When will SCDC take responsibility for nature and the environment and the impacts of Northstowe on surrounding communities?
Residents believe that the Northstowe lakes are being filled by groundwater and not rainwater alone.
We will continue to raise this issue until Longstanton receives the environmental protection and mitigation it needs. Meanwhile, the refusal of SCDC to resolve this issue is causing immense damage, not just to the reputation of Councillors and Northstowe but to Longstanton’s environment too.
Northstowe should benefit this local area not blight it. IT’S TIME WE WERE TOLD THE TRUTH!