Following a meeting in Hadnall with parish councillors and residents affected by flooding, Helen Morgan MP raised a formal debate in Parliament, ‘Role of water companies in new housing development planning’, on 12th March, referencing many of Hadnall’s issues. A link to the Parliament TV recording can be found here.
On 15th January 2025 Rev Paul Cawthorne organised a meeting at Hadnall Village
Hall to explore flooding and drainage in Hadnall. Members of the Parish Council
attended this meeting and were struck by the extent of flooding being experienced
by Hadnall residents: It quickly became apparent that there were a number of
different issues relating to flooding, drainage, and the pumping station that required
significant investigation and input from various bodies.
The parish council immediately sought to co-ordinate a meeting with Shropshire
Council and Severn Trent Water which was held on Wednesday 26th February. The
main outcomes of this meeting were:
Acknowledgement from Severn Trent Water that Hadnall is facing a range of issues
linked to drainage, sewage and problems at the pumping station and that during
heavy rainfall the system does not meet capacity needs.
Severn Trent Water are keen to hold a drop-in session with Hadnall residents. This
will be advertised in advance.
SC Planning commented that at the time of the Local Plan being drafted they were
not aware of these problems. One potential option is for house-building to be
staggered until infrastructure sorted, however, it was also noted that Hadnall will get
more house building due to the needs of the county (an 86% increase across
Shropshire).
Pumping station improvements, particularly during peak rainfall, are under
consideration.
The rising main will likely be looked at as part of a bigger ongoing project.
The attenuation pond at Abbotts Drive is not working correctly, investigations and
talks with the developer are underway.
Timescales and exact plan will be forthcoming as soon as thorough testing and
investigation works are complete.
The parish council then met with Helen Morgan MP on Friday 28th February. She
agreed to put her voice to the current discussions with Severn Trent Water and
Shropshire Council and to support where she can. We are aware that talks have
already been held between Severn Trent Water and Helen Morgan. Helen also raised
a formal debate, ‘Role of water companies in new housing development planning’, in
Parliament on 12th March, referencing many of Hadnall’s issues. A link to the TV
recording can be found on a separate news item.
Since these meetings, the Parish Council have received assurances from Severn Trent
Water that the improvement will happen but more work needs to be done to
confirm the date that any physical work will begin; work has started in surveying and
modelling. It is hoped that improvements will include the Rising Main, Surface Water
Separation and addressing possible infiltration into the network.
The parish council will continue to work hard to address these items and summarised
updates are provided at each parish council meeting.
This week the Parish Council met with senior representatives of Severn Trent and Shropshire Council to address the problems that residents are facing.
Background:
Key points to report from the meeting:
We as a parish council have listened carefully to local concerns and will continue to work tirelessly to champion this issue and find ways to help protect current and future residents from the devastating effects of flooding.
Support from our MP:
The Parish Council met with Helen Morgan MP today (28 February) along with some residents affected by the issues and we were pleased to receive Helen’s full support.
On Monday 3rd February there will be a meeting of the parish council's Planning Committee at 8.30pm in the Village Hall.
The agenda will include the proposal for 45 dwellings on land south of Wedgefields, and a proposal to build an extension at Hadnall Primary School.
Members of the public are very welcome to attend and to contribute to the discussion during the Public Participation session.
Full details of all planning applications can be found here: https://next.shropshire.gov.uk/.../viewing-planning.../ You can also log in to contribute your own response to a planning application.
At the January meeting, Hadnall Parish Council agreed its budget and precept for the next financial year.
It was agreed to request a precept of £15496. This represents a small rise of 1.72% (68 pence per year) for a Band D household.