A national heritage watchdog has raised concerns about the number of homes which could be built as part of the redevelopment of Anglia Square.
Historic England (HE) has expressed fears about the impact that plans to build up to 1,000 homes at the site will have on the surrounding area.
It issued the warning at a series of hearings being held by government planning inspectors to assess the Greater Norwich Local Plan - the strategy to govern about Norwich and its outskirts will grow over the coming years.
There are currently 50,000 new homes expected to be built in the area between now and 2038 and Anglia Square represents one of the biggest sites near the city centre.
Debbie Mack, from HE, raised concerns that the developer behind the scheme had shifted from wanting to build 800 homes on the site to saying the number would be between 600 and 1,000.
Speaking at a hearing on Monday, Ms Mack also questioned the lack of a heritage impact assessment for the area - an examination of the effect the project will have on local historic assets.
She said: "Giving a range of 400 dwellings does not give clarity about the nature and scale of development.”
Michael Jordan, from the Norwich Society, raised similar fears over the range in the number of proposed homes.
He argued that more civic groups would have objected to plans for Anglia Square if they had been aware that 1,000 homes could be developed.
He said: “Anglia Square is an important site but it is not the largest in Norwich and it’s been studied by all the parties for many years now.
“By this stage, we would expect to see some precision in the allocation [of the number of homes]. In this instance, the partnership is proposing figures that decrease that precision and gives us a range of 400 homes.”
Peter Luder, speaking on behalf of Weston Homes, the developer, said the company set out wanting 800 homes, with more to be built if it were demonstrated to be acceptable.
Mr Luder argued that HE's own suggestion of 600 homes for the site was also unsupported by a heritage impact assessment and that if the project was further delayed, City Hall and Weston Homes would miss out on cash from a central government which is investing in the scheme.
He said: “There is a question of a very substantial £15m funding contribution from Homes England granted to Norwich City Council for this site, there is a time deadline, that has to be spent by 2024.”
Mr Luder added the range allowed flexibility for constraints to be considered at later stages.
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