Fenland District Council have decided whether or not to approve plans for nine new homes to be built in March.

At a Planning Committee meeting held on August 7, the panel heard a planning application seeking permission for nine new homes to be built on Brownlows Yard on Creek Road, March.

Prior to the meeting, planning officers at Fenland District Council produced a report that recommended the council refuse the application on the grounds that the site has a significant flood risk which would make housing on the land unsuitable.

At the meeting on August 7, the committee refused the application. In a Decision Notice, it reads: "This permission has been refused for the following reason(s): By virtue of its location and land use, within an area of high and medium risk of surface water flooding, and its failure to pass the Sequential Test, the proposed development would place people and property in an unjustified risk of flooding."

It continues: "The Local Planning Authority has worked positively and proactively with the applicant to overcome problems arising from the application and while not all of these can be overcome and planning permission/consent is refused, other potential reasons for refusal have been negated."

The applicants, Mr Brownlow and Ms Davies, received support for their application from March residents and March Town Council. Nine representations of support were submitted to Fenland District Council prior to the meeting and refusal of the plans.

Some locals believed that the development would provide "much needed" housing in the area, while others said the development would boost the local economy.

However, Cllr Tim Taylor, who represents the March Ward at Fenland District Council, objected to the plans and said that they could bring "catastrophic consequences" with potential flooding.

Mr Brownlow and Ms Davies can appeal the council's decision to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner MP.