Christleton and Littleton Neighbourhood Plan - Regulation 16 consultation

Comment

Representation ID: 17062

Received: 18/05/2026

Respondent: Welsh Water

Thank you for consulting Dwr Cymru Welsh Water on the Christleton & Littleton Neighbourhood Development Plan. We appreciate the opportunity to engage in the Neighbourhood Plan process, and we offer the following representation for your consideration. Please note that we are the statutory undertaker for foul drainage in the area; however, we are not responsible for the potable drinking water supply.

We note that the consultation does not propose to allocate land for further development in the NDP area. Should any future planning application be submitted for development we can consider the impact of foul flows from that development on the sewerage network once we receive details of the site location, development proposals, and foul drainage strategy.

The Neighbourhood Plan also includes a couple of policies, HDC5 & INF1, that we wish to provide representations on:

Policy HDC5 Water & Drainage
We welcome the policy requirement that SuDS must be used in new developments.

The inclusion of this policy recognises the importance of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) to ensure no net deterioration to existing drainage infrastructure. The tackling of surface water at source is a vital component of sustainable development and will mitigate against overloaded sewers which can ultimately lead to flooding. Disposing of surface water in a sustainable manner by ensuring that it does not communicate with the public sewerage network protects the environment and assists in ensuring that there is sufficient capacity in the public sewerage network for foul-only flows from development sites. SuDS should be delivered in accordance with the National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) July 2025:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-standards-for-sustainable-drainage-systems/national-standards-for-sustainable-drainage-systems-suds#the-regulatory-framework

Policy INF1 Sewerage & Drainage
We welcome that a dedicated sewerage and drainage policy is proposed for the plan, ref INF1. Adequate drainage infrastructure is key to ensuring new development sites are sustainable, viable and deliverable. However, I believe there has been a misunderstanding in relation to our representation on the recent outline planning application for 200 homes at Whitchurch Road, Christleton (CWaC Council ref 25/02656/OUT). Our assessment is twofold – we assess the capacity of the sewerage network (the physical system of pipes, sewers etc that conveys the foul sewage to a treatment site) and the capacity of the Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) which is the facility where wastewater is treated before being returned to the environment.

Our representation on the planning application 25/02656/OUT stated that “it is unlikely that sufficient capacity exists to accommodate the development within the immediate public sewerage system without causing detriment to the existing services we provide to our customers, or in regard to the protection of the environment.” Please note that this comment refers to the sewerage network in proximity to the site. Page 1 and 2 of our representation on the planning application sets out a comprehensive representation relating to the sewerage network.

The sewerage network conveys foul sewage to Chester Wastewater Treatment Works (WwTW) which is in the Sealand Road area of Chester, and I would clarify that Chester WwTW does have treatment capacity to accept further growth, as mentioned on page 3 of our representation. I have attached a copy of our response.

In light of the above, the proposed wording of policy INF1 would require amendment to reflect the above.

I trust the above assists you with the progression of the Neighbourhood Development Plan.