This site has a watercourse along the northern boundary. The catchment area is too small for the watercourse to have the flood plain automatically mapped. Therefore should this site come forward it will require a flood risk assessment (FRA) to level 2 standard to clarify the flood plain extent and easement width required for this watercourse.

The site is sensitive in terms of protection requirements for 'Controlled Waters'. It is located on solid geology of the Pennine Upper Coal Measures formation, consisting of bands of alternating mudstone, siltstone and sandstone. The more permeable strata will contain sufficient groundwater to support drinking water abstractions and thus the whole formation is now classified as Principal Aquifer under the new Water Framework Directive typology. There are no drift deposits overlying the solid geology locally and the soils predominantly consist of fine to coarse loamy silts, with intermediate leaching potential. Furthermore, the site is located 1.5 km south westerly from a STW public supply borehole and as said above there is a watercourse bordering the site to the north, with the river Avon some 500 m to the east.

Should this site come forward further site specific investigation will need to confirm the exact geology and soil conditions locally, as well as depth to watertable, ground drainage potentials and any contamination legacy from previous developments. There could be Made Ground across the site or indeed impacts from the adjacent railway line. As part of any planning application for a residential development, we would like to see a site investigation and risk assessment condition to assess risks to controlled waters. Based on those findings, we can then also better advise on future drainage options (e.g. to ground or not). The Environmental Health department at the Council has the remit to protect human health, so they will need to get involved too.