Residents on Hayling Island are concerned that their fears have been confirmed as housing development floods

The development, on land in Sinah Lane, has been at the centre of numerous disputes with current residents, who are fearful of the ramifications of building on that particular land – but the significant flooding over the past couple of weeks has been disconcerting.

The Barratt Homes site is set to create 195 new homes, but there were hurdles that the company had to overcome in getting permission to begin their work as the application was initially rejected by approximately 525 residents.

After heavy rainfall, the site was drowning in water and some of the homes had their surrounding area turn into a moat.

Wouter Bertels, a Hayling resident, said: ‘Everyone understands that more housing is needed nationally, but developing this site defies logic.

‘Low mains water pressure on the island is already an issue, as are burst pipes due to increases in water pressure to serve increasing development. This would further deteriorate the situation.

‘The site frequently floods, with borehole data showing groundwater at just 10cm below surface level. While the flooding is a particular bugbear, it’s just one of many issues with this site that was hidden or ignored.

‘The only argument in favour of this site is that the developer can sell the properties for a premium, which has clearly influenced them to aggressively pursue development of this site.’

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Flooding is one of the biggest concerns amongst residents, but there are a multitude of other factors that has left them feeling uneasy.

Rosie Law, of Sinah Lane, said: ‘Sinah Lane residents complain they are now living in a goldfish bowl and some are closing their curtains and view over their own garden to avoid being overlooked by the builders working on the first floor of the new houses which look directly into their own properties.’

Many residents have become and more anxious about previously raised concerns over how common it is for the land to flood, whilst equally questioning what this means for the future home owners who will be moving into these properties.

Ray Stewart, a resident of Sinah Lane, said: ‘We are faced with a perfect storm created by a “concreted” over field by a housing development which will not be completely drained by SUDs.

‘The rising groundwater presents a real, and potentially catastrophic, threat to our infrastructure. Roadways will be eroded from below, septic systems won’t drain, seawalls will keep the ocean out but trap the water seeping up, leading to more flooding.’

A spokesperson for Barratt David Wilson Homes Southampton said: ‘Prior to the Christmas break we were controlling excess water with temporary pumps, but these pumps had to be switched off during the Christmas period due to a noise restriction.

‘Without the daily pumping, unusually high rainfall then collected. Now we are back on site the pumps are running to control surface water when it rains.

‘The surface water drainage network will be fully operational by spring and will then control any rainwater without the need for these temporary pumps. We are doing all we can to resolve this issue and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.’