A HOUSING developer has been issued with a legal notice by Cotswold District Council (CDC) for a ‘clear breach’ of conditions, after the occupation of new homes in Fairford before a foul drainage scheme was completed by the water board.

The 124-home Fairford Gate estate, off Cirencester Road, currently has 11 occupied houses but developer Bloor Homes insists it hasn't broken any rules.

According to a CDC spokesman, the planning committee approved the housing application on the condition “a foul and surface water drainage scheme” be submitted “prior to works commencing” and be “implemented before any houses were occupied” – an agreement which it does not believe has been stuck to by Bloor.

The spokesman added: “Whilst it is understood that a temporary solution has been implemented by the developer to deal with drainage in the interim, there was a clear breach of the condition, hence the notice.”

The district council issued the breach of condition notice on July 25 after being made aware that several homes were occupied by the town council in June.

Speaking at a full town council meeting on August 9, Cllr Sue Coakley, CDC member for Fairford, said: “The houses were not in our view capable of being occupied because the foul drainage system has not been delivered.

“I feel sorry for the people who have moved into those homes believing it to be a delivered site with all the facilities that you would expect when you move into a new home.

“They are doubtless finding that that is far from the case.”

She went on to say: “They [Bloor Homes] shouldn’t have done it [allowed residents to move onto the site]. There’s no question they shouldn’t have done it and that’s why we’ve issued enforcement action.

“I think they would be very foolish not to come in line with the enforcement action.”

A spokesman for Bloor Homes defended the decision to allow residents to move onto the site.

He said: “Following a number of meetings with Thames Water (TW), we submitted full drainage details in November 2015 to CDC and have taken all reasonable measures to secure the delivery of the appropriate drainage infrastructure in association with the development at Fairford.

“The foul and surface water drainage schemes are technically approved by CDC and TW, and implementation of the approved foul drainage scheme will be completed by TW.

“In the meantime, we have made arrangements to manage foul and surface water on site to ensure that there is no harm to the local environment or disturbance to the amenity of residents.”

In June, several homes were flooded across Fairford following what Cotswoldweather.net forecaster Steve Ball described as a “month’s rain in two hours” one afternoon, with longstanding questions once again being raised about the effectiveness of the town’s drainage system.

At the time, TW told the Standard a drainage strategy, to run until the end of next year, was being undertaken in the town.

“As part of this we’ll carry out surveys and risk assessments, including looking at new developments, and explore ways to tackle the issues,” the spokesman said.

“So far we’ve found evidence of surface water entering our foul sewers, which then overloads our system during heavy rain.

“We’re working with the lead local flood authority, Gloucestershire Highways, to come up with a solution to this problem.”

The spokesman added that the water authority works closely with “developers and planning authorities to assess any potential impact of new homes on our sewer network and infrastructure.”

On Tuesday, a TW spokesman said: “We’re in ongoing discussions with Bloor Homes about our work on the development.”