Anglian Water has lodged plans to expand a town's sewage pumping station in order to make way for new housing.
The company hopes to increase capacity at the Watton site off Watton Road as part of a £10m investment into its infrastructure in the area.
It follows problems with the existing sewage network which becomes overwhelmed and struggles to cope with flows in times of heavy rain, leading to flooding.
A new 4.4km pipeline could also be installed which will allow Anglian Water to divert flows from the south of Watton to take pressure off the existing network.
New fencing, hedgerows and trees are also planned for the site following the works.
The water company has already carried out a number of improvements in the area, including a new storm tank and it hopes to create green areas and permeable surfaces to cope with surface water.
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It comes as a number of major housing schemes have been proposed or approved for Watton and the surrounding area.
In Breckland Council's local plan, it has been identified as one of the areas which could see more housing built, along with other market towns including Thetford, Swaffham and Dereham.
New developments have been putting pressure on the company's sewer networks across the county and it is a point of growing concern for locals, who fear future housing schemes will push capacity to the limit.
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This has been seen most recently in Grimson in west Norfolk, where surface water from new developments has been infiltrating the sewer network, causing sewage to overflow into one of Norfolk's rare chalk streams.
The public has until January 24 to comment on the proposals (ref: 3CM/2024/0004/CM) via the Breckland or Norfolk County Council websites.
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