The £9m revamp of a Norwich hospital could cause an 'unacceptable' risk of flooding of foul sewerage downstream from the site, a water company has warned.
Health bosses have lodged plans which would see the transformation of the Norwich Community Hospital site, off Bowthorpe Road, in the west of the city.
The existing building would be knocked down and replaced with a five-storey hospital, alongside a new care home, care units and worker accommodation.
However, Anglian Water has written to Norwich City Council - which will determine the planning application - raising its concerns over flooding.
Of the foul sewerage network on the site, Anglian Water says: 'Development will lead to an unacceptable risk of flooding downstream.
'A drainage strategy will need to be prepared in consultation with Anglian Water to determine mitigation measures.'
Anglian Water also said that the surface water strategy and flood risk assessment which had been submitted was unacceptable.
But health bosses say they have already supplied extra information, which they hope will alleviate the concerns the water company had raised.
A spokeswoman for the Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust said: 'The comment from Anglian Water was a standard one requesting additional information on drainage, in order to be able to make a decision.
'That information has now been submitted to Norwich Council. We would expect to see a further comment from Anglian Water confirming that it has no objection to the application in due course.'
A number of people living close to site have also lodged objections to the proposal. They have concerns about how the ground beneath their homes could be affected.
They say many properties in the area sit above unmapped and unstable chalk tunnels and fear subsidence. The trust has said it is conscious of the concerns.
And the presence of bats on the site means that the trust has had to apply to build a bat roost above a bin store, to provide a new home for the animals, before demolition can take place.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here