Land at Finches Farm, Five Oak Green

We understand that properties in Five Oak Green have been vulnerable to flooding in the recent past. Our proposed development of the land at Finches Farm offers the opportunity to provide on-site drainage features that could mitigate the risk of flooding not only for the new homes but for existing ones as well.

A sustainable drainage strategy will be developed which will limit surface water run-off from the development to the existing Greenfield run-off rate. This will be achieved by attenuating the source of the flows using new Sustainable Drainage features (SuDS) such as swales and ditches, which would capture and convey surface waters before releasing them at a rate that replicates natural systems.

The main attenuation basins will be designed to deliver sufficient capacity to collect and temporarily store water during periods of heavy rainfall, before releasing them at a controlled rate into the wider drainage network beyond the site.

There is also scope within the site to enable any flooding caused by the backwater effect of the opening under the railway embankment to be diverted into an area of lower lying land on-site. Sensitive design could enable this flood water to be stored within a flood alleviation basin with restricted discharge back into the central watercourse, reducing the flood risk to existing properties neighbouring the site.