Attleborough housing development blamed for 2023 floods

Investigators for Norfolk County Council have concluded that the 2023 Attleborough floods, which damaged more than 100 homes, in part resulted from workers building a temporary road across the waterway.

Their official report, which has recently been published, found that the structure - providing access to the 165-home Gables housing development on the edge of the town - did not have planning permission.

Flood homes, in the foreground, with the new housing development on the other side of the road (Image: Stuart Sharpin)

It was built across the Besthorpe Stream, meaning that when Attleborough suffered a period of extreme rainfall during Storm Babet, in October 2023, the watercourse backed up and floodwater spread throughout the surrounding streets.

In total, around 130 homes were flooded, with some residents forced to move out of their homes for up to a year while the properties were renovated. One couple, Barry and Ruth Herber, were left facing a £250,000 repair bill, which was covered by their home insurance.

Barry Herber, 72, suffered significant flooding at his home in Norwich Road (Image: Newsquest)

The clean-up operation and subsequent repairs to drainage systems has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The town - which is undergoing some of the county's most intensive housebuilding - had not traditionally experienced flooding on this scale and County Hall officials have been investigating the incident to see what lessons can be learned.

The Gables development in Norwich Road, Attleborough (Image: Owen Sennitt)

Breckland Council had initially refused permission for the Gables housing scheme, on the north side of Norwich Road, because the land was a flood plain.

However, the developers, Hill Group, lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, the government body which adjudicates planning disputes, and the decision was overturned.

The new report found the blocked Besthorpe Stream, which runs underneath the A11 near the housing development, resulted in water backing up about 300m upstream.

The service road across the stream at the Gables housing development after the flooding (Image: Stuart Sharpin)

An officer said: "This restricted the natural flow of floodwater along this stretch of the watercourse and contributed to the flooding of the affected properties in this subcatchment."

Following the floods, Hill Group was given orders to clear the structure by the East Harling internal drainage board.

The report also found other drainage ditches and culverts had not been properly cleared and that debris had contributed to the flooding.

Five days later the bridge across the stream had been removed (Image: Stuart Sharpin)

Officials also found that because the new Gables homes were being built on raised land on the northern side of Norwich Road, this exacerbated the flooding for existing homes on the southern side of the road.

A map of the area that suffered flooding, which officials say was exacerbated by the new housing development north of Norwich Road, Attleborough (Image: Google)

They said the higher elevation "impounded" floodwater on the southern side and "exacerbated the depth and extent of flooding in the area immediately upstream of this feature which sits at a lower elevation".

Hill Group has received the report and is reviewing the information, a spokeswoman said.

A county council spokesman said: "The flood investigation report has identified several factors that contributed to the flooding in Attleborough and Besthorpe.

"These include heavy rainfall and saturated ground conditions in October 2023, historic changes to watercourses linked to housing developments since the 1970s, local land and farming practices, and issues within the Norwich Road development site."

He said work had since been carried out to clear watercourses and that experts were looking at ways to slow water entering Attleborough and to clear downstream areas.

EMERGING CRISIS

Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman (Image: George Freeman)

Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman believes Attleborough's experience is an example of a wider problem of new housing developments increasing flooding risks in the county.

New homes have a right to connect to existing drainage and sewer systems and he fears ageing infrastructure is becoming overwhelmed with the demand.

He wants Norfolk County Council, as the lead flood authority, to map where flooding has taken place and where new homes have been built to better understand this relationship.

Mr Freeman said: "This report absolutely validates my thesis that this inland flooding is directly linked to new housing.

"Why is this happening in Breckland? I think the agencies have taken their eye off the ball and have been more focused on coastal threats due to rising sea levels.

"We need to be honest about the scale of the problem."

Homes flooded in Mill Lane following Storm Babet's torrential rain in October 2023 (Image: Lynn Shortt)

He recently told the Times: "Planning law encourages the big developers to dump huge commuter housing estates all the way up the A11.

“The outskirts of villages and towns are an easy place to dump housing, but without proper investment in drainage it condemns both new and old communities to the misery of flooding.”

Surface flooding is expected to put more than six million properties at risk between 2040 and 2060, the Environment Agency has said.

In Mid Norfolk alone, the number of properties at risk will rise from 4,649 to 6,280.

Mr Freeman believes there is an emerging crisis in homeowners being unable to get insurance for their properties, or struggling to get mortgages due to flood risks.