NSE 'Development' is a Dump on the Chalfonts and Chiltern District

Provision of Utilities
200+ new houses would require gas, electricity, telephone and water supplies, as would accommodation complexes for sheltered accommodation and a residential home. With the exception of water supplies this is not a big problem, but there would certainly be a fair amount of disruption whilst Rickmansworth Lane (and others) are dug up several times to lay-in the services.

Provision of water is shaping up to be a big issue. The water provider does not think there is adequate pressure in the area to accommodate a development of the size the NSE proposes. The cost of upgrading the supply might be in the order of £2Million. As far as sense can tell this is not included in the NSE's plans.

The additional population may also trigger the next mobile 'phone transceiver mast in the area. Presumably so-called "3rd generation". At the time of writing, a Dutch research project reported adverse health effects recorded on people up to 2Km from this type of mast. Doubtless the UK telecomms industry will now pay some consultants to produce a "There is no evidence to support that......." report.

Sewerage
So where's this going to be routed? A large part of the local systems that flow down towards the A413 are 40+ years old. Some, for example in Foxdell Way, are already breaking down and requiring expensive repairs. Some, for example in Foxdell Way, are unadopted by the council - repairs are paid for by local residents. They've got quite enough sewerage of their own right now and don't need any more from the NSE.

Also, flooding of the River Misbourne during the last few winters has been problematic. In particular, in the Winter of 2000-01 serious flooding permitted raw sewerage to escape and be very noticeable in the vicinity of the Scout Hall, Community Centre, Greyhound public house and to a lesser extent Chalfont St. Peter centre. If the NSE's housing development is planned to route sewerage from 850+ new people down towards the A413 sense would like guarantees from the NSE and Council(s) that there would be no adverse health and safety consequences from a repeat leak of raw sewerage.

Sewerage in the CSP area is already a recognised issue in the Local Plan. Basically, the trunk sewer to the Maple Lodge works is barely adequate. The following is a quote from General Condition 6 (GC6) from the 2001 Local Plan.

"3.27 With regard to planning applications for all types of development, the
Council will need to be satisfied that further development does not overload
the sewerage infrastructure. Where necessary, the Council will seek either
to include a condition to phase development or may refuse development for
reasons of prematurity, to ensure that adequate capacity can be provided
before development proceeds. This will ensure that sewerage flooding, a
public health risk or environmental pollution, would be avoided. This
approach is supported by the Government who wish to prevent harm to the
environment caused by premature development overloading the existing
infrastructure."

Update August 2005

The Public Inquiry started on Tuesday 28 June 2005. On the evening of Friday 24 June there was a period of heavy rain over North West London and parts of Buckinghamshire that created large amounts of surface water and localised flooding. It was nothing on the scale of the 2000/01 floods - indeed there were only trace amounts of water in the River Misbourne.

Yet the local sewerage system is overloaded and apparently unable to cope adequately even with rain such as this. The photographs below were taken in the churchyard of St Peter's church on the morning of Sunday 26 June.

The manhole cover has been forced off its base by the pressure of the water/sewerage mixture below.

The effect on the grass around is clear - and one has to presume this has not occurred overnight - the contamination affecting the grass to such an effect is presumably from previous events.

A closer inspection. Rather unpleasant.

If the NSE's scheme were permitted to proceed, the simple fact that there is more raw sewerage around has to mean that any and all future escapes would be more concentrated and more damaging to the environment. (Not to mention to the health and safety of the local population, of course!).

As the church authorities were cleaning up the mess, the Public Inquiry started.

Wider Afield
Yes, there will be an impact outside the immediate area. More cars trying to join the A413. More cars using Rickmansworth Lane to get to the M25 at Maple Cross. More pressure on car parking in the village. Etc. Perhaps the most interesting one for neighbouring communities is that of increased pressure for school places at Robertswood, Middle School and the Community College. Furthermore, Tesco's in Gerrards Cross would attract a large proportion of the proposed residents - the route they would drive is directly through CSP centre.

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