Exmouth homes approved amid sewage capacity concerns
SWW told the committee it had conducted a thorough assessment of the sewage network, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.Councillor Geoff Jung said he was concerned after the company said the system "should" be able to cope with the development. "I'm worried because they have only looked at the first 260m (about 850ft) of pipes from the development, yet there are another three miles (4.8km) of network," he said.
'Investing millions'
Councillor MIke Howe said there was "no faith" in SWW."With all the facts we know about Exmouth and sewage overflows into the sea in particular, that have been increasing year over year, how can we stand with the SWW response that putting more sewage into a system won't increase overflows?" he asked.
Ed Freeman, the assistant director for planning at the council, said he could "understand member concerns and lack of trust in SWW".However, he said: "We don't have contradictory evidence to their evidence, and the company is investing millions of pounds in the town.
"We have also been conducting a water cycle study and it shows there is some capacity at the Maer Lane treatment works, so we don't have reason to question SWW."The committee voted in favour to approve the scheme, but attached a condition to include proof to be presented to the council that drainage is adequate.The developer will now have to submit a more detailed application, which will include aspects like the exact number of homes, their design and layout on the site.
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