A vision for a pop-up market as part of a controversial 950-home development has been criticised by the local town council.
Fresh plans for the major development of 950 new homes, a primary school, nursery, shops and a hotel and pub in Fakenham have been submitted to North Norfolk District Council (NNDC).
The land between Rudham Stile Lane and the A148 has been earmarked for Fakenham’s expansion since 2012, with new plans being submitted to NNDC last week.
The 33-page design and access statement shows an altering of site boundaries, changes to the location of housing and a larger town square, hotel and pub.
But Fakenham Town Council has told developers, Trinity College Cambridge, it is “strongly against” the plan for The Square, which would host a pop-up market.
“FTC do not wish to object to the overall design, but suggest some improvements and insist on others,” the council said in online planning papers.
“Fakenham’s one enormous strength is its Charter Market. The market is the town and nothing will be allowed that takes anything away from this.
“The Market Square must be the only such space.”
FTC also suggested improvements including adequate car parking and smaller offices at low rent to encourage start up businesses in the retail area.
A spokesperson said: “FTC has grave reservations as to the adequacy of the suggested parking arrangements. A primary school could have up to 210 pupils, the majority of children are likely to go to school by car.
“Adequate parking in addition to that in the square is needed to prevent chaos on the spine road.”
Over the last two years two public consultations have taken place, including one which was given to 2,000 local residents by the architects Define.
The main issues raised from respondents to Define’s consultation included impact on traffic congestion and road safety, the development’s scale, the potential impact on the town and on existing services and facilities, including health and education, the ability to fund new facilities and provision of a suitable mix of housing.
In response to the concerns, the architects said: “The scheme has evolved to take these matters into account, including the consideration of the proximity of the proposed development to existing property boundaries and optimising pedestrian and cycle accessibility and connections to Fakenham and the wider area.”
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