Developers believe new plans for 220 homes on Whittlesey’s controversial Showfields site will allay fears of flooding raised by a previous application.

Showfields Ltd have submitted two new applications: firstly to build up to 220 homes on land near the Dog in a Doublet sluice; and secondly to create an area for ‘informal recreation’ on an adjoining piece of land.

In the planning statement agents Insight Town Planning Ltd acknowledge a previous planning application to build 249 homes on the land east of East Delph was rejected, even after an appeal, because of fears of flooding, traffic congestion and the effect on the nearby Nene Washes conservation site and highway safety.

But they say the new plans have seen the proposed development cut by 29 dwellings which means all the properties will now be built in zone one which is outside of the flood risk area.

In fact there are two key changes between the last application, which was originally refused in December 2013 by Fenland District Counci. The first is that “the residential development is directed entirely to land with the least probability of flooding, in accordance with local and national policy”.

The report says: “The previous appeal was dismissed on flood risk grounds. Those grounds are overcome in this revised submission.”

Secondly the “already substantial contribution to public open space of the appeal scheme” has been greatly increased through additional public open space on the housing site and also on the additional piece land which is subject to the second separate application.

The planning statement also points out that as a result of the appeal process the applicant was able to establish “extensive” common ground with the Local Planning Authority, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Environment Agency and the North Level Internal Drainage Board.