We note that “SN4020, Land west of Old Yarmouth Road” and “VC DIT1 REV, Land at Thwaite Road and Tunney’s Lane” are both located in the catchment of the Ditchingham Water Recycling Centre (WRC). Current data shows Ditchingham WRC to be operating at close to its permitted dry weather flow (DWF) capacity, with no plans currently in place for Anglian Water to increase the available headroom to accommodate further growth in this location. While there may be some room for limited growth, the proposed allocations and resulting increase in foul water flows pose the potential risk of harm to the waterbody receiving treated effluent from Ditchingham WRC.

We therefore recommend including within policies SN4020 and VC DIT1 REV the requirement for developers to liaise with Anglian Water and submit a Drainage Strategy as part of any future applications, demonstrating that flows from the development can be accommodated within the permitted capacity and without causing increased risk of deterioration to the status of the waterbody. The Drainage Strategy should also demonstrate that the development will not compromise the Local Planning Authority’s obligations under the Water Framework Directive and the National Planning Policy Framework’s requirement to have due regard to the River Basin Management Plan.