DRAINS will overflow and water will regularly flood village streets if plans to build 30 homes on marshland go ahead, it was claimed last night.
Strood Green Flood Forum believes plans to develop the Tanners Meadow site, in Brockham, will hinder drainage in the village and threaten residents with regular flooding.
Developer Charles Church plans to dig two small ponds to drain the marshland so the homes can be built, but forum chairman Helyn Clack said this "wasn't enough".
She added: "The development will flood the main drains system and it will blow which would be appalling."
Mrs Clack, who is also the county councillor for Dorking Rural, said the plan should be withdrawn until there is a better solution.
She added: "Thirty homes, along with driveways and roads, will provoke further impediment to water flow and it seems unlikely that two ponds will manage the excess for the whole area.
"Residents are being foul-treated by the lack of concern from this development over their own homes."
To avoid further flooding at the site, Mrs Clack suggests a much wider "lagoon" should be installed to cope with the increase in water.
She added the area is notorious for flooding and both nearby Middle Street and Tynedale Road were overflowing last year.
The Tanners Meadow Action Group, driven by residents fervently against the development, has already submitted its objection ahead of today's closure of public consultation on the planning application.
Maurice Homewood, who lives beside the meadow in Glenfield Close and is a member of the action group, said: "I should feel very sad if it flooded."
The Brockham Parish Councillor added: "I am at one with the forum. If the drainage can't be relied upon it shouldn't go ahead. The site is very unfortunately chosen."
Charles Church spokeswoman Anna Mitra said the firm was doing its best to resolve any objections.
She added: "[We believe] there are inaccuracies in what people are saying.
"We've been to [Brockham] Parish Council twice and we've brought our drainage professionals along.
"We've also done work on the site and we've done pipe clearance work at our own expense.
"We've kept in close contact with the drainage situation and it is a concern, and remains a concern, in the process of calming people down."
The Environment Agency, which evaluates flood risks, told the council last week that it had "no objection" to the development. But planning officer Bernie Lewis added the application should consider using "additional sustainable urban drainage systems".
This could include "cisterns" which are tanks that store water and "harvest" it, Mr Lewis added.
The application will be discussed by councillors at a planning committee meeting later this year.
