New Homes in Norfolk

37,000 new homes planned for Norfolk

by DAN GRIMMER Friday, February 25, 2011
12:57 PM

The way has been cleared for 37,000 homes and 27,000 jobs in and around Norwich in the next 15 years after a controversial blueprint for growth was given the green light by planning inspectors.

Years of debate over what is known as the joint core strategy for Broadland, Norwich and South Norfolk will culminate today in the document being deemed sound by government inspectors, which opens the way for developments such as the eco-town at Rackheath and the Long Stratton bypass.

To the relief of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) - a partnership of Norwich, Broadland, South Norfolk and Norfolk councils and the Broads Authority - inspectors Roy Foster and Mike Fox will rule the document is sound.

That means a framework will soon be in place against which future planning applications can be assessed. Developers who want to build homes in areas outlined in the blueprint will stand more chance of success - and those trying to build elsewhere are less likely to get permission.

Council bosses hailed the blueprint as vital to future jobs, homes and economic prosperity at a time when the population of the county is growing.

Steve Morphew, Norwich City Council leader, said: “Official approval for this historic blueprint for jobs, homes and future prosperity gives confidence to us all.

“The common goal is to enhance the quality of life for this and future generations who live in the city and around, with plans for more homes going arm in arm with the jobs and services communities need to thrive.

“This should mean the end of developer and expediency-driven development and growth.”

The news will disappoint critics who fear it will lead to urban sprawl from Norwich, with villages swamped by new homes.

They had hoped if the scheme had been found unsound it would deliver a knock-out blow to proposals for the controversial Northern Distributor Road (NDR), which is currently in funding limbo.

But the inspectors said: “The authorities have seized the initiative, risen to the challenges presented by the demographic forecasts for the area and made a proactive response which recognises the scale of the issues.

“The joint core strategy sets out a sound long-term strategy for this growth and the GNDP position on this issue is worthy of support.”

The inspectors did insist on a dozen changes. One of the most significant is for contingency plans for if the NDR, seen by the GNDP as key to development to the north-east of Norwich, is not built.

They said the document needed to include acknowledgement that some development in the north-east growth triangle could take place before that road is built - though the road is “fundamental” to the “full implementation” of the blueprint.

And they said if it becomes clear there was no possibility of the NDR being built, a review of the blueprint’s proposals for the north-east growth triangle would be triggered - which would have implications for new homes in Sprowston, Old Catton, Thorpe St Andrew and the proposed eco-town at Rackheath.

Another significant change is that developers would only have to provide a 33pc target of affordable homes on larger sites (16 homes or more), rather than the 40pc the partnership was seeking.

Leaders of the four local authorities in the GNDP will be asked to recommend to their councils that the strategy, with the inspectors’ changes, is adopted.

Simon Woodbridge, Broadland District Council leader, said: “We now have a robust joint core strategy that will serve residents and businesses and will attract investment into the Greater Norwich area.

“It will ensure development is sustainable and can provide jobs, homes and prosperity for Broadland, South Norfolk and Norwich.”

With the GNDP having been criticised for holding meetings during the evolution of the blueprint behind closed doors, the inspectors said they had been legally compliant.

But they added: “It may be that improvements could have been made, especially with the benefit of hindsight”. Future meetings about how the blueprint will be delivered will be in public.

GNDP bosses stressed homes will not spring up overnight, but that it will take many years for all the developments to go through the planning channels.

A community infrastructure levy will raise money for roads, schools, open space and other facilities where homes and jobs are created.

With Labour’s regional spatial strategy – targets for how many homes need to be built – scrapped by the coalition government and question-marks over the future of the NDR, critics, such as the Norfolk branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Friends of Thorpe Woodlands and Norwich and Norfolk Transport Action Group, had called for the plan to be withdrawn.

Because a no-approach embargo was placed on the report’s publication, the EDP could not contact other critics or supporters of the blueprint before going to press today. Read tomorrow’s EDP for further reaction.

dan.grimmer@archant.co.uk

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12 comments

recently ditchingham in norfolk had a planning meeting about new housing association places being built in the village . Many people asked the local libdems the same question. Will all these new places be given to norfolk local people. The libdems counciler did not seem keen to support the idea of all new local housing being given to local people . WHATS WRONG WITH THAT IDEA

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running bear

Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The questions about whether Norfolk's environment can cope with the proposed number of new houses is debatable. The question posed is does building houses encourage employers to move to the area before or after they are built? I suspect that unless Norfolk improves its road and rail infrastructure then we will remain as unattractive to employers as we are at present. Of course there have been some notable successes in attracting inward investment in companies specialising in science and technology during the recent years but are they the answer to Norfolk's employment problems? I suspect that the majority of the jobs created have not gone to Norfolk residents but to the scientists and specialists from elsewhere in the UK and beyond. If we are to create jobs we will need to create the right conditions for employers to move here. Those employers need to see the road rail and communications they need to thrive. Regrettably, without the necessary transport and communications infrastructure in place all that new housing will do will be to encourage an influx of more retired people and those commuters who see the lower prices they can buy houses for in Norfolk rather than Cambridgeshire.

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Douglas McCoy

Monday, February 28, 2011
The trouble is that you cannot trust Broadland to deliver what they say.Ask any village that has had affordable house for local people, as we have in Freethorpe,and despite the best efforts of the parish council to achieve that. We got shafted by Broadland, and there is nothing we can do. We need a complete clear out of broadland coun cil and councillors who are so inept it makes you want to strangle them.

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countywize

Friday, February 25, 2011
Well done to our local politicians for standing up to the NIMBYs. My kids need jobs and houses. We need young people to stay here or come here to keep the are the vibrant place it has become (and look after all us old'uns!!)This area has been growing for years - the jobs will come just like they have previously - and if they dont the houses wont get built. We will have to make sure that they are good jobs and local people have the aspirations and skills to take them, but there are plenty of good firms in the area to expand and build on.

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Local Dad

Friday, February 25, 2011
So lets take this kind of development urban sprawl to its logical conclusion just where does it eventually end? Supposedly you stop when you reach the boundaries of the Broads, or do you just carry on and use every bit of available dry land until you reach the coast? Its just madness personified by short sighted selfish people acting on the behalf of their greedy paymasters who can’t see further than the end of their noses. It is about time the genuinely people of Norfolk who genuinely care for the area stood up to be counted and put these bigots in their place for once and all.

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chucky noris

Friday, February 25, 2011
What happened to people power? It's clear that many are opposed to these developments and I clearly recall David Cameron when asked about the Rackheath development state that the local people that these developments affect should have the final say. This is democracy at its best as the GDNP and the inspectors run roughshod over the general public’s views.

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John L Norton

Friday, February 25, 2011
So 27.000 new jobs are planned. Great BUT where will they all come from? It is all well and good for GNDP to sit behind closed doors and plan for all these new jobs, but so far I have not seen even a hint as to where these jobs are going to come from. Get realisitic!

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Norwich lad

Friday, February 25, 2011
Oh great! Can't wait for the whole of Norfolks road network to be gridlocked.

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country bumkin

Friday, February 25, 2011
This approval is a nonsense and poltically inspired beyond all else. Norwich infrastructure is already overstretched not least the hospital together with all the fundemental services. Without the mass immigration we would need much more modest building and the aspiration for new jobs is unrealistic. Unless the majority of new jobs are in manufacturing then it will not be sustainable in the longer term and then what? Much of EU, especially Germany for example, is looking to reduce its population and so should we. England is close to being the most overcrowded country in the EU and this will make it worse. We are already seeing the pressures on worldwide food production and we will all be hit by the increased costs of food made worse by our need to import ever increasing volumes of food from effectively shrinking supplies!

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andy

Friday, February 25, 2011
37,000 homes 27,000 jobs.....doing what precisely what????oh!! I know....no doubt working at about 10,000 Tesco's! We can't think of NOT having any Tesco's...after all there are nearly as many of them as there is new houses going up. I agree with Ameedog STOP letting people in and we won't need so many houses. As an island will surely sink before long all this extra weight we keep adding. More people came to England to live than left to live abroad....We can't keep sustaining all these people. PS. please finish building Queens Hills before you start something else!!

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FredJ

Friday, February 25, 2011
if the goverment stopped letting so many people into the country we would not need all these new homes

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Ameedog

Friday, February 25, 2011
Its becoming abundantly clear that £750.000, allocated by cllr. Plant for a cancelled NDR, are resources that should have been re allocated to less CO2 intensive purposes, namely cycle and pedestrian provisions. Ideally the money should help those who have faced the 3 year full 40% cuts in the first year, i.e. the childrens and youth services, not to speak of the valuable Unthank centre. The code for sustainable housing as well as the availability of alternative materials to brick, should make these proposed develoments the greenest housing in Britain, but will they?

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ingo wagenknecht

Friday, February 25, 2011