Sir – Many of your readers will have suffered the misery of flooding over the past few weeks.

To build on land subjected to flooding is unforgivable but apparently it has the approval of West Oxfordshire District Council.

The misnamed Carterton East proposal, which as most people know, is actually sited in the parish of Brize Norton, is in an area immediately adjacent to the floodplain.

The developers think balancing ponds can alleviate the problem of flooding. In theory these would take excess water caused by the new housing and allow it to be gradually released into the surrounding ground.

The big problem with this is that, as any local builder will tell you, the water table is very high in the catchment area around Brize Norton.

Where is this excess water going to go? There is no space for the additional water caused by the building of 700-plus new houses.

I can understand the developers and landowners ignoring this problem for their own financial gain, but West Oxfordshire District Council?

Surely common sense must prevail and simple practicalities be taken into consideration.

Diana Homer, Station Road, Brize Norton