New 10,000-home Norfolk town 'would keep house prices down'

5
Skip to next photo
1/1
Show caption
1/1
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

Building a 10,000-home new town in Norfolk would help keep the price of houses down, a council leader has claimed.

South Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer said creating a new settlement in the district - which would be bigger than Dereham - would increase the supply of housing and stop the cost of it from soaring.

South Norfolk Council leader Daniel ElmerSouth Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer (Image: South Norfolk Council)

He made his comments in a video produced by the Conservative-run council, created  to address criticism of its decision to suggest the district as a location for one of the government's mooted new towns.

He said: "If we don't build now, supply will never keep up with demand and prices will just go up and up in the long run.

"But, by building now, we can make sure that local people are able to stay close to their families, their homes and their jobs."

South Norfolk Council produced a video in which leader Daniel Elmer defends the authority's decision to express an interest in one of the government's new towns being built in the districtSouth Norfolk Council has produced a video in which leader Daniel Elmer defends the authority's interest in creating a 'new town' (Image: South Norfolk Council)

The playful video, entitled Mythbusting with Cllr Dan Elmer, sees the council leader wielding a sledgehammer to "bust myths" about the new town.

It depicts the council leader hitting, jumping on and kicking cardboard boxes with 'myths' written on them.

These include "we'll lose our community and won't be able to afford the new houses" and "our roads will be jammed and we'll never see a doctor again".

A new town could be built in South NorfolkA new town could be built in South Norfolk

Mr Elmer said: "By building a new settlement, it means we can get the doctor's surgeries in early, we can get the roads in before people move in.

"It means all that essential infrastructure will be there from the start."

Hethel has previously been mooted as a potential site for a new settlement, but it is understood there are two more possible locations in south Norfolk. However, the locations have not been revealed.

Each new town will have the potential for 10,000 or more homes, contributing towards the 1.5 million new homes which the government has pledged to build.

The idea of a new town in South Norfolk has previously been branded as "preposterous" by the Norfolk branch of countryside charity the Campaign for Rural England.

South Norfolk MP Ben GoldsboroughSouth Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough (Image: Ben Goldsborough)

But South Norfolk Labour MP Ben Goldsborough has backed the idea, saying it would be "excellent" for Norfolk.

Get involved
with the news

Send your news & photos