A new planning application for five houses in the garden of a Newport pub has been submitted.

Punch Pubs previously put in an application to build the same number of detached houses next to The Coach and Horses in Cambridge Road.

The scheme was rejected by planning officers last year. It had sparked more than 500 letters of objection, and Newport District Councillor Neil Hargreaves is hoping the new application will attract similar opposition. It currently has 48 objections.

The appeal for the previous application is approaching the deadline for objections, and the new application has been submitted by Cordage 9 Ltd.

A spokesperson for Punch Pubs said they have already sold the land, but they are aware the Land Registry is working with a backlog in their systems due to the pandemic - so any information may not be up to date.

Cllr Hargreaves said: “We had a huge amount of objections last time, and they were from all around the country, as this is a destination pub. We want another flood of objections to come in.

“We don’t want them to say, ‘there are no objections this time’.”

He added: “They pushed the housing to one side, but it’s as bad as the previous application. Houses will be further away from the pub, but there is always conflict if you put them close to the pub.

“This application is precautionary in case their appeal gets turned down.”

He said the garden is not suitable for houses because it is susceptible to flooding from River Cam. “It’s building on a flood site. It would flood future residents’ gardens. The floods bring debris and pollution.

“No flood system can solve this.

“I remember very clearly in 2014, it was my birthday, and there was a flood right where the houses will be, containing sewage pollution.”

Saffron Walden Reporter: R4U Councillor Neil Hargreaves said he took this photo of the flooding in the Coach and Horses garden on a previous birthdayR4U Councillor Neil Hargreaves said he took this photo of the flooding in the Coach and Horses garden on a previous birthday (Image: Neil Hargreaves)

Meanwhile, the rejected application is set to be reconsidered by the government's planning inspectorate.

The appeal is written, and the deadline for objections is at the beginning of February.

Cllr Hargreaves said the appeal decision could take a long time, but it may equally be a quick process.

Cordage 9 have been contacted for comment.