A NEW housing development in Redvales could help protect the area from flooding, according to Bury Council.

Councillors approved plans for 65 affordable homes to be built on land adjacent to Warth Road at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday night, after the proposal was redesigned following Environment Agency advice.

Planning officers said that the new estate could now help to prevent a repeat of the scenes of Boxing Day 2015 in which many nearby properties were left under several feet of water.

David Marno, of the council’s planning office, said: “If the river floods in the same way it did last year, this site will actually help in a way that it did not previously.

“It will provide a flood plain kind of function, but the new houses will be slightly elevated in relation to the surrounding areas so they will be clear of the water.

“Hopefully the provision that the Environment Agency has advised will make it safer for the houses and those along Warth Road and neighbouring streets.”

The Environment Agency had lodged an objection to the plans when they were first submitted, but have now given their support for the development after the applicant agreed to raise the minimum slab level of the properties.

A spokesman for the developers, MCI Developments, said: “In my opinion, the most important issue regarding this development is the issue of flood risk, especially since the floods last year.

“This scheme has been specifically designed to address flood risk and now has Environment Agency support.

“It is clear that by working with council planning officers, we have been able to resolve all development control issues.”

The estate will be made up of affordable homes and is partly funded by a £2.1 million grant from the Homes and Communities Agency.

The spokesman added: “This grant has a time limit on it, so you can be assured that the scheme will commence within the next few months and be completed in a timely fashion.”

Five objections were received from local residents, some of whom cited the potential flood risk as a reason for opposing the scheme.

Residents also said it was important to protect wildlife in the area, including Knatterjack toads, foxes, and deer.