Flooding fears have led to a call to Allerdale Council to honour the wishes of 500 residents to stop all further development in the village.

This comes at the same time that Maryport Town council received the details of the Government’s proposal to loosen planning restriction to make it easier to build homes.

Mayor Peter Kendall said the Flimby Flood Group had recently concerns again about flooding issues in the village.

After Storm Desmond, which hit Flimby badly, Maryport Town Council asked for a moratorium on all development because of the lack of modern drainage and sewerage systems.

This included encouraging 500 residents to send petition letters to Allerdale asking for a halt to development and for the drainage system to be upgraded to prevent further flooding.

Councillors said the problem was exacerbated after planning conditions for the Farmer’s Way housing development were amended, which meant large storm water holding tanks were omitted.

Mr Kendall told Maryport council this week that then planning boss Kevin Kerrigan and colleague Steve Long had agreed to look at the situation and the council now needed to be held to that.

The call comes as a proposal is being considered for a 60-home development on the site of the former Flimby Lodge, in an area known as “the Swamp” because of its tendency to flood.

The owner of the land, Nick Hill, from Cheshire, who said Allerdale had marked the area as suitable for up to to 70 houses.

Town councillors have already said the would object to the proposal for flooding reasons and also because it would lead to the loss of some allotments.

The situation in Flimby highlights the need for local input into planning decisions.

Cllr Carni McCarron-Holmes said democracy was being threatened: “They are planning to cut out democracy which has been there since 1947.”

Workington MP Mark Jenkinson to the meeting to explain the new rules but Cllr LindaRadcliffe said he should be there to be questioned.