AN OBJECTION to plans for new homes at Great Western Park in Didcot because of an inadequate sewerage system could delay construction work, it has emerged.

Last April tankers were installed at a pumping station near the estate to ensure excess water did not overflow on to streets in Tower Gardens.

As a result Didcot Town Council raised an objection to an application for any more homes to be built at the estate.

By September water and sewerage contractor Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE) had installed a temporary storage tank and pumping station able to service 1,200 homes.

About 600 homes have been built to date.

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But Thames Water is still not happy with the situation and will not agree a planning condition for Taylor Wimpey’s latest application for 414 new houses, submitted in December.

The objection letter said: “A strategic drainage strategy for the Great Western Park development has yet to be agreed with the developer.

“Until a solution has been agreed and network upgrades constructed, the receiving public network will be unable to accommodate the increased flows from the development.

“Earlier phases of this development have had a detrimental effect on flooding frequency and volume.

“The addition of new phases could compound the issue further. It is imperative that a strategic solution is agreed before further development is progressed.”

In 2002 outline planning permission was given for the 3,300-home estate, but planning authority South Oxfordshire District Council is still required to agree detailed proposals for each new phase of the estate being built.

Didcot West county councillor Nick Hards said last year that a large diameter pipe needed to be built to cater for the 3,500 homes planned for the estate.

Following the Thames Water objection he said the water company and developer Taylor Wimpey needed to agree on how much each should pay towards the cost of building a major sewer under the railway.

He added: “This would run roughly from the Mendip Heights roundabout to the sewage treatment plant, which is north of the railway and east of the Swindon to Oxford spur.

“What Thames Water seems to me to be saying is that no more houses can be built in the Didcot area because the public foul sewer network cannot cope.

“The work needed is so major that it could take years to complete, even when the parties reach an agreement.”

Didcot town council leader Eleanor Hards, who is married to Mr Hards, added: “Last year holding tanks were put in place to prevent too much water flowing into the system at once but that does not appear to have solved the problem.”

The target decision date for SODC councillors to agree the latest details on the application for the 414 homes is February 7.

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