THE Environment Agency is appealing for comments on an environmental permit application received from Countrywide Park Homes, which seeks to release 43.2 cubic metres of secondary treated sewage effluent into Frensham Great Pond.

The waste will be extracted from 90 two-bedroom residential holiday lets– on land at Frensham Country Park in Wishanger Road, Churt – and will be treated by a sewage treatment plant.

However on Countrywide Park Homes’ website it has stated that there will be “detached single storey two and three-bedroom homes”, and not simply two bedroom homes like the consultation indicates.

The proposed discharge is into Whitmore Vale Stream which is a tributary of Frensham Great Pond which leads to The River Wey.

The Environment Agency stated it will take all “consultation responses into consideration as part of our determination of the permit. If we decide to grant the permit we will explain how we have made our decision and how we have addressed the concerns that were raised”.

The agency will only issue a permit if it believes that harm to the environment, people and wildlife will be minimised and that the operator has the ability to meet the conditions of the permit.

Further in the consultation the agency noted that “providing a business can prove that the proposed activities meets all the legal requirements, including environmental, technological and health requirements, then we are legally obliged to issue a permit, even if some people do not approve of the decision”.

Jonathan Harvey, partner at Countrywide Park Homes, said: “Countrywide Park Homes sought the professional advice of many drainage specialists before submitting the environmental permit application.

“The determination with how best to proceed is now with the Environment Agency. Countrywide Park Homes is committed to ensuring that any waste from the site is treated and disposed of in a suitable manner so not to damage the local environment.

“As such, Countrywide Park Homes plans to follow the expert advice provided by the Environment Agency once a recommendation has been made.”

In response to this consultation a spokesperson for Symondstone Community Action Group, set up in opposition to Countrywide Park Homes’ application at Symondstone Farm in Wishanger Road, said: “We are pleased that the consultation period has been extended to allow all interested parties to make their representations. We remain concerned with the proposal as it currently stands and trust that the Environment Agency will take all representations into account before making their decision.

“As expressed by Jeremy Hunt, Frensham Pond and the surrounding heathland are a precious resource that should be preserved and not placed at unnecessary risk.

“We trust that the Environment Agency will ensure that this is the case and that cost considerations will not be a deciding issue.”

To comment on this application go to tinyurl.com/hoxgrgj and use reference code EPR/FB3896EQ/A001.

To submit a response by email, or to ask for a printed version of the document to be posted, contact the Permitting and Support centre on 03708 506 506, or at [email protected].

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Alternatively post a response to Environment Agency Permitting and Support Centre, The Water Quality Team Quadrant 2, 99 Parkway Avenue, Sheffield, S9 4WF.