Mini housing estate approved for rainfall “critical catchment area” in Milton Keynes following "significant discussion"

Although the 0.4 hectare patch of grassland at Hampstead Gate, in Bradwell Common, Milton Keynes is not itself in a flood zone, it forms a part of the city’s anti-flood design.

The Grand Union Housing Group application for 34 houses, flats and duplexes has been the subject of “significant and ongoing discussion” on the subject of drainage.

The registered social landlord is planning for 18 of the properties to be for social rent and 16 in shared ownership, and had been supported by the council’s housing team.

The plot, which is close to the 10th Century Bradwell Abbey, had also been earmarked for housing in the Milton Keynes local plan, called Plan:MK.

But initial concerns have been overcome by a series of conditions including the use of permeable paving and the use of water storage crates underneath the site’s 64-space car parking area.

The developers will have to get approval for a Sustainable Drainage Strategy, known as a SuDS plan, for the site’s drainage scheme.

A number of objections to the plan were lodged with Milton Keynes Council’s planning department before it decided to approve the plans on February 28.

These were over the loss of grassland for local residents to walk on, the loss of a site used by swifts, and overlooking.

Using delegated powers, the council planners concluded that the land has never been maintained as a local amenity, and has been allocated for housing for a considerable time.

They say the new homes would be far enough away and only result in overlooking to “less sensitive” fronts in terms of privacy.

And on the issue of swifts that nest locally and gather over the land, the planning report states that while the swift colony is something to be considered the “limited scale of the site and value of the ecology” is such that an offsetting payment is considered acceptable.

The developer has agreed to pay £20,724 for “biodiversity offsetting” as a part of section 106 planning payments totalling £559,645.

And council senior planning officer David Buckley added in his report: “Where species have protection under law, this would still apply where planning permission is granted.”

The plan has been supported by the council’s own urban design team who says the development is “a modern and forward-looking bespoke scheme.”