THE recent floods have raised new concerns about plans to build over 1,500 homes on land in Wrexham.

Heavy rainfall during Storm Babet on Friday flooded the site at the Lower Berse Farm, off Ruthin Road, reinforcing local residents' complaints about the site being a flood risk.

Redrow plans to build more than 1,500 homes on the site. Proposals also include the conversion of the 14th-century Lower Berse Farmhouse to create a community centre, providing residents with amenities such as shops, a nursery, and a café.

Redrow would also like to retain a four-acre space for the future creation of a primary school on-site.

Offa county councillor Kate Wilkinson has campaigned against the housing development, alongside Offa Community Council.

She said: "The current site is already prone to flooding and any new housing will increase the run-off from the site to other areas downstream. I'm incredibly concerned that the developers are willing to take this risk, knowing that climate change is happening as we speak and is forecast to get much worse.

"I think it's irresponsible to be destroying green fields that provide natural soakaways and creating a huge swathe of urban sprawl that will cause problems for anyone on the new housing estate and those living nearby.

"I will continue to work with local residents to try to prevent this site from being developed for housing that will not meet local need."

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Wrexham councillor Becca Martin has launched a petition to oppose the site being developed as a housing estate. 

She added: "This is another good reason for Wrexham Council to refuse this planning application. It's adding to the pressures on the environment - in terms of increased traffic, increased pollution and increased flood risk. Who would want to live on an estate that potentially could see these kinds of floods and facing difficult conversations with insurance companies. 

"It makes the Welsh Labour Government's decision to try to force through this site as one suitable for housing through the Local Development Plan (LDP) all the more incredible. As things stand, they're willing to allow developers to have their way rather than listen to local residents who will have to live with the consequences of any bad decision far into the future. I would urge the Welsh Government to rethink this LDP before it's too late."

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Paul Murray, strategic land director at Redrow (north west), said: “We have taken care when designing this development to address concerns around flooding. An independent flooding assessment has been submitted as part of our planning application.

"The assessment found that areas of isolated flooding would not be made any worse by the development, nor will there be any knock-on impact downstream. In addition, there wouldn’t be any housing in the areas where potential surface water flooding has been identified.

“We believe this is a sustainable location for a carefully phased development of much-needed new homes and community facilities, built over a number of years."