A "catastrophe waiting to happen" was how one Monmouth resident has described the latest plans for 450 houses on Wonastow Road.

Planning permission for the site has been given in principal, but now Barrett David Wilson Homes and Taylor Wimpey have submitted details of the landscaping and designs of the proposal and town planners held a public meeting last Tuesday (26th May) to hear comments from members of the community.

A statement from the developers was read out, describing the flood alleviation plans they have put in place with a proposed attenuation pond. But this did little to persuade the owners and tenants of some of the business units that their premises would not be affected by the water run-off and displacement of the present flood water that they experience from time to time.

Jim Oven, who owns the Eagle Plant and JO Engineering Units voiced his concern about the potential risk to his premises: "I want an assurance this will not affect what I've got, I have seen the flood water rise up to my car park," he said. A tenant of another unit added he was considering moving away having seen water up to an inch away from his door on previous occasions.

Mr Oven produced an independent hydrologist's report which had a number of points contradicting the information set out in the developers' proposals. The report criticised the planned bund on the site, stating that it would interrupt any flood water and divert it off site and the possibility of a breach was a potential risk.

Andrew Hubert Von Staufer, a consultant on environmental issues, said that the basic presumptions made by the developers were wrong and the one on one thousand year flood risk - a reference to sites that were at risk of a one in one thousand chance of flooding occurring each year - was nonsense as "we cannot determine what climate change will bring."

He said that we would all be "sleepwalking towards absolute failure" if the plans went ahead and that this planning application was an example of a total failure of planning policy.

Questions were asked about where the children would go to school as many of the local schools were already up to capacity.

Councillor Sue Chivers said that a school had been promised for the Rockfield Road development, but developers said that a school was not needed, "but the portable cabins at the Overmonnow and Monmouth Comprehensive Schools are because they got their sums wrong" she added.

Cllr Sue White pointed out that the outline plans had been voted through by a vast number of councillors from outside the Monmouth area.

Cllr Gerry Bright summed up the apparent feelings in the room and added: "I am not aware of anyone in this room here tonight that approves of this plan."

As town planners discovered from the Beacon that the plans are due to change 'drastically', they have arranged another meeting at the end of this month and intend to invite representatives from the developers, Natural Resources Wales, Monmouthshire County Council and engineers from the Lower Wye Internal Drainage Board.