WATER experts have approved the draingae system at a new housing development which people at Stokesley fear could aggravate flooding problems.

Barratt won planning permission on appeal 17 months ago for 18 houses at Eastfields, behind the Safeway supermarket, but one of the conditions required the developer to submit details of proposed surface water disposal.

The builder initially wanted to install a new surface water drain from the site, to run parallel to an existing drain and discharge into the River Leven, but Northumbrian Water said this was unacceptable.

Hambleton planning committee, which originally refused permission for the development, was told that Barratt now wanted to discharge into the existing drain, a culvert crossing the show field, and link into the system at Mill Riggs.

Northumbrian Water said that if the discharge into this drain was controlled and the drain was repaired, the system should be acceptable.

The water authority's judgement was questioned, however, by the parish council and 64 local people, who sent a letter to the planning committee saying the drain in question was already strained by the amount of surface water it took from their estate.

Residents said: "Whenever we get heavy rain we get backing up through the road gullies, flooding our roads and gardens. We feel that further water added to this system can only cause more flooding."

The parish council said it shared the concerns.

Committee members were divided over a suggestion by Coun Mike Richardson that Barratt should install a separate drain with a controlled discharge while the water authority repaired the existing culvert.

His proposal was defeated and members agreed with planning officers in accepting the Barratt scheme.

Mr Maurice Cann, head of development control at Hambleton, said the committee would have nothing to fear. "We have done all we can to address this issue and have got technical advice from all the right people."