Call for Sites 2026

Ends on 23 March 2026 (41 days remaining)

GNLP Call for Sites

The Greater Norwich authorities (Broadland District Council, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council, working with Norfolk County Council) are preparing to review the Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) which was adopted in March 2024.

As part of the early preparation stage before the review of the GNLP begins, the Greater Norwich authorities have opened a ‘Call for Sites’.

The Call for Sites is open from 9^thFebruary 2026 – 23^rdMarch 2026

As this is evidence gathering rather than a consultation, there is the possibility that the call for sites may reopen later in the year.

Landowners, developers, and other interested parties are invited to submit sites that may be suitable for housing, employment or other uses. Please note the call for sites does not include sites under 10 dwellings or 0.5 hectares. The Greater Norwich authorities will then assess submissions to identify which sites may be suitable to allocate in the reviewed local plan. This will form the basis of a future public consultation.

Submit your site Call for Sites Form

Please read the guidance note if you would like more information on how to submit your site online:

Guidance note

What is the Call for Sites?

The Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) was adopted in 2024 and plans for growth in the Greater Norwich area to 2038. Following the Government’s introduction of higher housing targets and new national planning reforms to speed up local plan making, the Greater Norwich councils intend to commence a review of the GNLP during 2026. Part of this includes an evidence gathering exercise called a ‘Call for Sites’ where landowners, developers and other interested parties are invited to submit sites within Broadland, Norwich and South Norfolk (excluding the area of the Broads Authority) which may be suitable for housing, economic development or other uses.

When is the Call for Sites taking place?

The Call for Sites will commence at 9am on Monday 9 February 2026. It will run until 5pm on Monday 23 March 2026. As this is evidence gathering rather than a consultation, there is the possibility that the Call for Sites may reopen later in the year.

What types of sites can be submitted?

We welcome submissions for:

Housing (including affordable and specialist housing)
Employment and commercial uses
Mixed-use developments
Other uses such as community/leisure facilities, utilities infrastructure, Biodiversity Net Gain and green infrastructure.

In terms of site size, we are looking for sites that are capable of delivering 10 or more homes or which are more than 0.5 ha in size.

The starting point for the review of the GNLP assumes that all sites identified in a current plan remain appropriate, so such sites do not need to be promoted again unless a significant change to the current allocation is sought. Sites that were previously submitted but not allocated in the GNLP can be resubmitted as part of this new call for sites.

How to submit a site

Submissions should be made online at https://gnlp.oc2.uk/. You will need to register to submit a site. All respondents are encouraged to read this guidance note thoroughly before submitting a site for consideration. Submissions should be completed as thoroughly and precisely as possible to enable an accurate assessment of the site to be made. There is a facility to save and resume your progress if needed prior to final submission of your site. If you need technical help to submit your site or have any questions, please contact us by emailing gnlp@norfolk.gov.uk or phoning 01603 306603.

If you wish to promote multiple sites, then a separate submission is required for each site. If you are jointly submitting a site with others, please only submit it once but include all promoters’ names, as this will avoid any confusion about the same site being submitted by different people. Anonymous submissions cannot be accepted as key details may need to be verified before a site can be allocated.

If you own a larger area of land that the site you are submitting, please consider uploading an additional plan showing the extent of the land you control in blue. This may be helpful during the site assessment process if it is appropriate to consider a different size or shape of site.

Some of the questions on the form are compulsory to answer. These reflect the information that we are required to collect by the government. Other questions are optional, but the more detail you can provide the more comprehensive the assessment we can make of your site. There is no need to submit extensive additional information beyond that required by the questions at this stage.

What happens next?

We will publish details about the submitted sites as soon as practicable after the Call for Sites closes on 23 March. The submitted sites will be assessed for their suitability, availability and deliverability in line with government guidance. This assessment will take a number of months to complete. If further information is required during the assessment, then you will be contacted. A prompt response to any such request would be appreciated. A site may not be able to be taken forward if significant gaps in information exist.

How will we use the information submitted?

The presumption will be that all information submitted on the Call for Sites form can be published for the purposes of transparency and public scrutiny, unless otherwise stated. By submitting a site to the Councils, you are acknowledging that the details you provide will be published in the public domain.

We will redact individuals’ personal data such as private addresses, contact details and signatures as appropriate before publicising site information.

A privacy notice is available online which sets out how we collect and handle personal data.

Inclusion in the Call for Sites is an early stage of plan making and does not guarantee allocation in the Local Plan. Sites should only be submitted where the promoter can clearly demonstrate that the site can be delivered for its proposed use before 2045. Please note that many more sites were submitted than were finally allocated in the GNLP.

General FAQs

Why are you undertaking a local plan review so soon after adopting the GNLP?

The Greater Norwich Local Plan was adopted in March 2024 and plans for around 45,000 homes and 33,000 jobs up to 2038. Since then, there have been significant national planning reforms including an overhaul of the plan-making system and an update to calculating how many homes we need. This means that parts of the GNLP are out of date and it no longer plans for enough homes. We are therefore required to review the local plan. This review will be undertaken under the new plan making system being introduced in 2026.

How does the review of the local plan relate to existing documents like the Development Management Policies Plans, the Village Clusters Housing Allocations Plan and Neighbourhood Plans?

These plans will still apply unless they contradict new national policy.

Why are more houses needed in Greater Norwich above what is planned for in the GNLP?

The government updated its method for calculating how many homes we need in Greater Norwich. The new method means our housing need is now 34% higher than the methodology the GNLP was based on and what was planned for through the GNLP.

Why are you undertaking a review of the GNLP before the Government has made the final decision about Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution?

In June 2025, Jim McMahon the Minister of State for Local Government and English devolution stated: I continue to expect local planning authorities to work towards the adoption of an up-to-date local plan as soon as possible. Local Government Reorganisation should not hinder this essential work; neither should the introduction of the new legal framework for local plan-making later this year, or our strategic planning reforms’ (source: UK Parliament website). We therefore must continue with the local plan review work.

What does it mean for a site to be ‘allocated’ in a local plan?

Sites are allocated for particular uses like housing, employment or retail in a local plan to guide future growth and ensure sustainable development. It is a formal process which agrees the principle of developing the site for that use, which gives developers, landowners and residents certainty about what can be built where. It also helps to plan for the amount and location of infrastructure needed to support the development such as schools, community facilities or public transport.

Specific Guidance by section

SECTION 1 – SITE INFORMATION

Please plot your site using the mapping tool available, there is a tutorial within the online system to help you. Plotting your site digitally auto generates information regarding grid reference and site area so we have not specifically asked these questions. There is a facility to mark a point of access on the map when you plot your site using the point tool. There is an option to upload a shapefile for larger sites, please contact us if you need further information about doing this.

This section then asks for the following information:

Site location address
Is the site currently in use or vacant?
What is the current/most recent land use?
Is the site brownfield (previously developed land) or greenfield?
Have there been any planning applications on the site within the last 5 years?
Is there a current means of access to the site from the public highway? (see above, please mark point of access on map when you plot your site)
Does access need to be improved before development can take place?
Are there any public rights of way that cross or adjoin the site?
Do any special arrangements need to be made with regard to site visits?

SECTION 2 – CONTACT DETAILS AND AVAILABILITY

The contact details of the person filling in the form will be captured at the point of registration, so we do not ask for these again as part of the online form. This may be an agent submitting a site on behalf of a client or an owner/landowner submitting a site without using an agent or promoter. Please tick the relevant box to indicate your relationship to the site. If you are completing the form on behalf of a client or landowner there is a separate section to capture their details.

This section then asks for the following information:

Is the site under an option or promotion agreement?
Is the site in multiple ownership? If so, do all landowners support the proposal for the site?
Please indicate when development could start on site.
Once started how many years do you think it would take to complete the development?
Has there been any market interest in the site?
Have discussions taken place with any developers/housebuilders?
Have you undertaken any community engagement or spoken to the relevant Town/Parish Council?
Are there any known legal or ownership constraints?
Has the site previously been promoted through a local plan process?
Have any pre application discussions taken place? (Please note that this information will remain confidential)

SECTION 3 – PROPOSED SITE USE

Please indicate all potential uses that you are proposing on the site from the tick box lists with an indication of the proposed number of houses or employment floorspace as appropriate. A number of housing and employment related categories are listed. Please note the call for sites does not include small residential developments under 10 dwellings or 0.5 hectares.

If your proposed site is not for any of the housing or employment uses listed, then please use the ‘other uses’ box to give us details. Other types of uses could include utilities infrastructure, Biodiversity Net Gain, green infrastructure, or community/leisure facilities.

SECTION 4 – DELIVERABILITY AND CONSTRAINTS

Please note that the majority of site constraint information will be automatically identified for your site using GIS data when you plot your spatial polygon and this will be available to officers in the back end of the system for analysis purposes. This includes flood risk and environmental/heritage designations so further information about these is not required at the current time.

This section then asks for the following information:

Are there any slopes or significant changes in levels that could affect the development of the site?
Are the ground conditions on the site stable? Are there any potential ground contamination issues?
Are there any significant trees or hedgerows within, crossing or bordering the site?
Would the development of the site have any impact/implications on any uses neighbouring the site?
Are there any existing buildings or uses that need to be relocated before the site can be developed?
Which utilities are likely to be readily available to service the site and enable development?

SECTION 5 – VIABILITY

Please tick the box on the form to confirm you have read and agreed to the viability statement acknowledging that there are likely to be regulatory, policy requirement and Community Infrastructure Levy costs to be met in addition to the other development costs of the site.

This section then asks for the following information:

Do you know if there are any abnormal costs that could affect the viability of site?
Do you consider that the site is currently viable for this proposed use taking into account any and all costs associated with the site?

SECTION 6 - SUPPORTING INFORMATION

This section gives the opportunity for people to upload any additional documents that may be helpful in assessing their site. Please note at this stage there is no need to upload lengthy evidence documents. Any information provided that is not relevant at this stage may not be used and we reserve the right not to review it.

If you own further land in addition to that which you are promoting, please upload a plan here with the extent of the land holding shown in blue.

Please read our Privacy Policy before submitting a site

The Greater Norwich authorities are taking a digital-first approach for all stages of the review of the GNLP, including for site submissions made during the ‘Call for Sites’. The aim of this approach is to speed up the plan-making process, in line with government requirements, and to allow the Greater Norwich authorities to assess submissions more effectively.

If you need help submitting the details of your site, or if you experience any issues with the online submission platform, please contact the review of the Greater Norwich Local Plan team via GNLP@norfolk.gov.uk or 01603 306603. Our team will be happy to assist you.

For instructions on how to use the system and make comments, please see our help guide.