FOI release

Local Plan Consultation - sewerage capacity.

Case reference FOI2024/00595

Published 25 April 2024

Request

Your Local Plan Consultation - Appendix 4a Settlement Service Scoring does not include the capacity of the present public sewerage systems for increased housing in each settlement. A key factor to keep Herefordshire's rivers clean.

1. Has the Council got this information for each of the settlements?

2. If 'Yes' may I have the information for Fownhope?

3. How many of the settlements listed in Appendix 4a have public sewerage systems?

Response

Your Local Plan Consultation - Appendix 4a Settlement Service Scoring does not include the capacity of the present public sewerage systems for increased housing in each settlement. A key factor to keep Herefordshire's rivers clean.

Note from the service area: Appendix 4a Settlement Service Scoring (herefordshire.gov.uk) of the Draft Local Plan Rural Areas Background Paper March 2024 does not refer to public sewerage information.

It was previously referred to in Local Plan Place Shaping Consultation for the rural areas. In the Rural Areas Settlement Hierarchy Background Paper June 2022 information about access to mains drainage was included in the scoring methodology for the assessment of each settlement. See Page 16 of this paper to see the approach to the inclusion of mains drainage. A combination of information was used to identify if mains drainage was present. This included information from Welsh Water and Severn Trent for the larger settlements. The smaller settlements and hamlets required a manual check on our Exponare Mapping System for signs of drainage where information was not available by the water companies. All of this was combined into a table in Appendix 5 (pg.58) of the Rural Areas Settlement Hierarchy Background Paper June 2022. Where it was known if mains drainage existed then a score of 15 was included for each location. Where no information was known about mains drainage then the settlement scored 0.

This approach to not include drainage in future Rural Settlement Hierarchy assessments was set out in the March 2024 Draft Local Plan Rural Areas Background Paper. Reasons for this are set out on pg. 8 of Rural Areas Background Paper March 2024. Appendix 1 of this 2024 Paper includes the information sent to parishes for checking with further information explaining the reasons for not using drainage as part of the assessment

1. Has the Council got this information for each of the settlements?

A) Please see the attached Drainage spreadsheets from Welsh Water and Severn Trent, which identifies the issues for drainage for each settlement that the water companies monitor. The information from Severn Trent is with reference to specific sites in the villages for the purposes of the Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment. This was then used to help inform the presence of drainage in the settlements as part of the Rural Settlement Hierarchy. The Exponare checks was simply a yes or no presence of drainage within the settlement. All of the settlements identified as having mains drainage are identified on pg. 24 of the Rural Areas Settlement Hierarchy Background Paper June 2022.

2. If 'Yes' may I have the information for Fownhope?

A) The information for Fownhope is identified in the attached Drainage spreadsheet from Welsh Water.

3. How many of the settlements listed in Appendix 4a have public sewerage systems?

A) As referred to above, there are the settlements identified as having access to mains drainage on pg. 24 of the Rural Areas Settlement Hierarchy Background Paper June 2022. There is no distinction made on the size of these systems it is only based on the presence or not of mains drainage. There are 102 settlements in total and these include:

· Abbeydore, Adforton, Almeley and Ashperton.

· Bartestree, Bishops Frome, Bishopstone, Bosbury, Brampton Abbotts, Bredenbury,

· Bredwardine, Bridstow, Brimfield, Brockhampton (N) and Burmarsh.

· Canon Pyon, Clehonger, Colwall, Coughton, Cradley, Credenhill and Cusop.

· Dilwyn, Dormington and Dorstone.

· Eardisley, Eastnor, Eaton Bishop, Edwyn Ralph and Ewyas Harold.

· Fownhope and Fromes Hill.

· Glewtone, Grafton and Grendon Bishop.

· Harewood End, Holme Lacy, Holme March, How Caple, Howle Hill and Ivington.

· Kilpeck, Kings Caple, Kingsland and Kingstone.

· Leintwardine, Little Dewchurch, Longtown, Lower Burlton, Lugwardine, Luston, Lyde and

· Lyonshall.

· Madley, Marden, Mathon, Moccas, Monkhide, Mordiford, Moreton on Lugg, Much Cowarne and Munstone.

· Ocle Pychard, Orcop Hill and Orelton.

· Pembridge, Pencombe, Pontrilas, Pontshill, Preston on Wye and Putley

· Richards Castle.

· Shobdon, St Owens Cross, St Weonards, Staunton on Wye, Stoke Cross, Stoke Lacy, Stoke Prior, Stretton Grandison, Stretton Sugwas, Sutton St Nicholas, Swainshill, Symonds Yat (W),

· Tarrington and Titley.

· Upper Lyde and Upper Sapey.

· Walford (s), Wellington, Wellington Marsh, Welsh Newton Common, Weobley, Weston Beggard, Weston under Penyard, Whitchurch, Wigmore, Wilton, Woolhope and Wormbridge.

· Yarkhill and Yarpole.

Documents

This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.