Council pours cold water on flooding fears for park and ride
Council chiefs have comprehensively rejected suggestions that land earmarked for a park and ride at Bathampton is prone to flooding.
Campaigners fighting plans for the project on their doorstep have posted a video on YouTube in the latest stage of their fight.
They say recent flooding near the site at Bathampton Meadows should halt the scheme in its tracks.
But Bath and North East Somerset Council says the risk of flooding at the Meadows itself is less than one in 1,000 in any one year.
Members of the Save the Bathampton Meadows group watched in horror as last week's snow melt and torrential rain caused floodwater to lap at the edge of the field earmarked for the 1,400-car facility and saturated a flood plain created to protect Bath whenever the Avon bursts its banks.
They have now placed footage of the Bathampton area underwater on the website as part of their campaign to prove the facility is at risk of flooding, is an outdated method of cutting congestion and will destroy the approach to Bath.
The park and ride on Bathampton Meadows, next to Mill Lane and near the A4 Batheaston bypass, is a key part of a £60 million package of transport improvements planned for Bath.
The council has submitted four planning applications in an attempt to get the package passed. The deadline for public objections is Friday, March 6, and hundreds of comments have already been made about the various elements.
The package hinges on approval for the creation of the new A4 Eastern park and ride, expansion of the existing Odd Down, Lansdown and Newbridge sites and a controversial Bus Rapid Transit system linking Newbridge park and ride to the city centre.
Council cabinet member for transport Cllr Charles Gerrish (Con, Keynsham North) said: "There is an extremely low risk of flooding to the site, according to independent experts who have used data from the Environment Agency. The data suggests the likelihood of an extreme flood on the site is less than one in 1,000 in any one year.
"Bath and North East Somerset Council has carefully designed the site to minimise any flood risk."
Its environmental statement says the development will incorporate a full sustainable drainage system, including porous car parking spaces and a wetland area as part of the landscape enhancements proposed.
"The drainage system will allow water to drain through the car park at a controlled rate, which is consistent with current conditions."
But Batheaston resident and pressure group spokeswoman Alison Millar said she hoped the video and photographs would ring alarm bells for the authority.
She said: "These photos clearly show the water breaching the boundary of the site. The council may argue floods like this only occur every 200 or 1,000 years but with global warming and the recent extreme weather there is just no guarantee of that. They may as well call it a 'park and swim'.
"The council says they will be putting measures in place to prevent it, but I fail to see how they can stop petrol and oil from the park and ride surface running into the River Avon and polluting it.
"It is just too close to the flood plain for comfort, and that flood plain has been under water three times in the last year, not to mention the visual impact it will have on the villages surrounding and looking on to it."
The YouTube footage can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnlTXCPgVss.
Campaigner Mark Stephens said: "The submitted planning application leads to the conclusion that B&NES has attempted to find the least appropriate site for a park and ride car park. Great effort would be required to identify a worse location."
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by Jo, Bath
Monday, February 23 2009, 5:53PM
“Perhaps Haebs has taken up rowing, to get in some practice so that she can row from the P&R into town when its all flooded!”
by David, Bath
Monday, February 23 2009, 12:04PM
“Perhaps Frannie's got herself a new hobby to keep her occupied. If that's the case, I'd like to say to her that - in these tense times - "doing knitting is not an option".”
by Stacey, Bath
Friday, February 20 2009, 1:14PM
“Has anyone else noticed that our esteemed Coucil leader Mrs Heaberling seems to have discreetly distanced herself from the whole traffic debacle?
No longer does she rise to the challenge and trot out those wonderful catchphrases like "Doing nothing is not and option" "I feel sorry for the people affected I really do" etc etc.
Indeed, like the famous Coucil spokesperson she is conspicuous by her absence these days.
Poor Mr Gerrish must be feeling somewhat lonely and exposed at the moment!”
by B Wayne, Bath
Thursday, February 19 2009, 9:25PM
“Something isn't quite right; Cllr Gerrish talking about a 1 in a 1000 chance of a flood while, if he'd been standing at the edge of the proposed site last week water would have been gently lapping over the top of his wellies. But that's not the point; so what if the car park fills up with water occasionally and can't be used, or at worst someone has to punt their car home?
The real point is that the meadow, adjacent to the submerged area, cannot do what it does best; absorb rainwater and hold onto it instead of allowing it to run straight into the swollen River Avon during a flood and on into Bath.
There is a conflict with respect to the proposed ¿porous¿ parking surface. On the one hand BANES say that water will be absorbed by it, on the other they say it will stop fuel oils from seeping into the river. They can¿t have both. Any capability that the surface has to absorb water will reduce with time as it clogs with dirt.
With respect to the Environment Agency data, it¿s under constant review and with each review forecast flood zones tend to increase in size. An allowance of around 20% is currently made for predicted climate change over the next 100 years. It¿s not that long ago that that no allowance was made. The EA are currently revisiting and raising flood defences nationally. Even the Thames barrier is being reviewed as it has become apparent during its relatively short life, that it won¿t be adequate in the future. It seems daft to build immediately adjacent to a known flood zone and threaten to increase flood levels in Bath when alternatives are available.”
by Digital, Bath
Thursday, February 19 2009, 2:02PM
“So, who do we believe?
Gerrish with his usual dubious statistics or the video evidence provided by people who actually live in Bath?”