Site Proposals document

2. Settlement Summaries and Sites

2.1 Set out below in this document are a series of site details and settlement summaries, with accompanying maps available via the GNLP website at www.gnlp.org.uk :

• site details are listed under the parish within which they fall (or within which the majority of the site falls);
• you can make comments on the submitted sites online via the GNLP website, with interactive maps for each submitted site also available to help you (see paragraph 2.10 below for further detail);
• sites are also illustrated in map booklets for each parish/town/city available via the GNLP website. Each map booklet contains an overall map for the parish, followed by a series of individual site maps. We have tried to show as much context as possible, therefore sites which are outside the parish, but close to the boundary, should also be clearly evident from the maps.
• Hard copies of the maps and all other consultation documents are also available from the consultation deposit points:
  • County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich (main reception);
  • City Hall, St Peters Street, Norwich (2^nd floor reception);
  • Broadland District Council, Thorpe Road, Thorpe St Andrew (main reception);
  • South Norfolk Council, Cygnet Court, Long Stratton (main reception).
• as the title suggests, the settlement summaries have been written on a settlement basis, rather than a parish basis. Therefore, where a site clearly relates to a settlement in an adjoining parish, because of proximity and because future residents would use the services and facilities in that settlement, the site has been included within the summary for that settlement. For example, the settlement summary for Poringland includes several sites which are listed under the parishes of Caistor St Edmund, Framingham Earl, Framingham Pigot, and Stoke Holy Cross, but which are shown on the maps for both the parish they are in and are also shown on the overall parish map for Poringland.

Where possible, where the sites details and the summary of the site appear under different parishes, we have tried to cross-reference these as clearly as possible.

Proposed Sites

2.2. Basic site details are set out for all sites submitted up to 31 July 2017. The site details set out the location of the site, who has proposed it and what they would like it considered for. Whilst we have tried to take into account what the site has been proposed for, where sites have been proposed for specific house numbers the assessment will take into account the potential for housing development at the densities set out in the HELAA methodology, in order to make the assessment of sites consistent. Only sites of 0.25 hectares or more, or 5 dwellings or more, have been assessed using the HELAA methodology. Please note that sites of less than 0.25 hectares or for fewer than 5 dwellings will not be allocated through the GNLP, though they can be considered as part of extensions to development boundaries (see paragraph 2.9 below).

Assessment of sites received between 16 May 2016 and 31 July 2017

2.3. The initial assessment of sites received between 16 May 2016 and 31 July 2017 has been undertaken through the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA). The HELAA uses a methodology which is based on Government advice and which has been agreed by all of the Norfolk Local Planning Authorities. The HELAA is a desk-based exercise which uses a system of Red/Amber/Green (RAG) scores for a range of 'constraints' and 'impacts' associated with the potential development of the sites. Its purpose is to identify potential capacity for housing and employment growth across the three districts.

2.4. The views of a range of technical stakeholders, such as Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Anglian Water, local authority Conservation and Environmental Health services, and Norfolk County Council's Highways, Ecology and Historic Environment services, have been taken into account in the HELAA assessment. The HELAA uses RAG scores to assess the suitability of the sites (for the uses proposed by those submitting the sites) and this is complemented by an assessment of their 'availability' and 'achievability' in order to draw a conclusion about whether the site has potential capacity. The stakeholder responses have helped guide the RAG scores. However, the final HELAA scores do not necessarily directly reflect the consultee responses, as these are often made from a very specific viewpoint, and the HELAA needs to consider the potential for mitigating some of the impacts.

2.5. The intention of the HELAA is to gauge the potential capacity of the sites and the assessment indicates that relatively few sites have no capacity for development. However, it should be noted that just because the HELAA identifies a site has potential capacity for development, this does not mean that it is a suitable allocation site or would be granted planning permission.

Settlement summaries

2.6. The settlement summaries have been produced looking only at the sites submitted through the Call for Sites. Other sites have been shown on the maps to give greater context to the assessed sites. The summaries include a brief description of the settlement, including its classification in the current Joint Core Strategy, as well as noting existing allocations and key features. The aim is to highlight what the main concerns are for that town or village, arising principally from the HELAA, and a broad indication of which sites may be preferable for development, should sites be needed in that location. Again, the settlement summaries do not confirm that a site is suitable for allocation, or give any indication that planning permission would be granted. Further, more detailed work, is required to establish this. This could include more detailed investigation of the potential constraints and impacts identified by the initial assessment and an on-site assessment. Because the main Growth Options document is still asking for views on how different types of settlement will be classified and how new development will be distributed between those different types of settlement, it is not yet possible to say how much new housing (or other uses) will be required in particular places. Please note that where the only site submitted in a village is below the minimum site threshold for the plan of 5 dwellings or 0.25 hectares, or where no site has been submitted, a settlement summary for that village has not been produced.

Existing commitments

2.7. Section 4 of the main Growth Options document sets out how the amount of new housing has been calculated. One of the assumptions in that calculation is that the existing housing commitments (i.e. sites already allocated in current local plans and/or which have planning permission) will be built by 2036. So that you are able to comment on the submitted sites in the context of the development which has already been planned, we have shown all of these existing commitments on the maps available via the GNLP website at www.gnlp.org.uk . We are not seeking comments on the suitability of these sites for development, as this has already been established, however we would like to know if you think there are any reasons why the sites might not be delivered. Please respond to question 8 in the Growth Options consultation document on this issue.

Further details on the commitment sites can be found either in the respective local plan documents (for those which have an allocation reference), or by searching for the relevant application on the councils' websites (for those which have a planning permission reference). The local plan documents can be found in the following sections on the GNLP website at www.gnlp.org.uk :

Broadland Site Allocations DPD

Old Catton, Sprowston, Rackheath & Thorpe St Andrew Growth Triangle Area Action Plan

Strumpshaw Neighbourhood Plan

Norwich site allocations and site specific policies local plan

South Norfolk Local Plan Site Specific Allocations & Policies Document

Long Stratton Area Action Plan

Wymondham Area Action Plan

Cringleford Neighbourhood Plan

Applications can be found by searching, using the application reference number, at:

Broadland Planning Permissions : www.broadland.gov.uk

Norwich Planning Permissions : www.norwich.gov.uk

South Norfolk Planning Permissions : www.s-norfolk.gov.uk

Employment sites

2.8. Most of new land required for development in the GNLP is to accommodate additional housing. However, several of the sites submitted have been proposed for other uses, including employment, or have been proposed for a mix of uses (e.g. housing with supporting services, facilities and/or employment). Again, so that comments on sites can be made in context, a number of additional employment and town centre sites have been shown on the maps available via the GNLP website at www.gnlp.org.uk . These sites cover both existing employment areas which are important to protect as well as allocations in current local plans, designed to accommodate the employment that complements the existing housing commitments. These are taken from the GNLP Employment, Town Centres and Retail Study (2017), which can be found on the GNLP website.

Development Boundaries

2.9. The maps available via the GNLP website at www.gnlp.org.uk also illustrate the development boundaries from the current local plans. In effect, development boundaries are there to guide the majority of new development to sustainable locations, which are in keeping with the form and character of the settlement and which focus new growth in locations with good access to existing services and facilities. Development boundaries will be extended to encompass the sites which are eventually allocated for development in the GNLP; however, there may be areas where smaller changes to the boundary would be beneficial (generally for sites of less than 0.25 hectares and for fewer than 5 homes), to allow for small-scale development complementing the form and function of that settlement. Equally, it may be that in very specific circumstances areas might be removed from existing development boundaries, for example where there has been a loss of local facilities or where it would be beneficial to better protect the form and character of an area.

Submitting comments on sites

2.10. We are seeking your views on the sites that have already been submitted. Any comments submitted at this stage will help refine the assessment for sites in order to propose final allocations. As well as identifying any barriers to developing the sites (e.g. flood risk, service capacity, potential access to the site etc.) and raising concerns about the impact that development might have (e.g. environmental and heritage impacts), it would also be useful to know if there are any local benefits that could be achieved through development.

2.11. To help you make your comments:

• There is a summary of the sites submitted for each parish in this document below;
• The HELAA in our evidence base has more detailed summaries for each submitted site.

2.12. Whilst over 600 sites have already been submitted for consideration, the distribution across settlements is uneven. Some towns and villages which could potentially accommodate growth have not had many sites submitted for consideration and there may still be sites which would actually result in a better form of development than those already in this document. Therefore, if you have a site which has not already been considered, please submit this as part of this consultation (minimum size 0.25 hectares or 5 dwellings or more for residential development).