In order to meet the significant requirement for new homes, and to ensure a bright and prosperous future for the Greater Norwich area, an ambitious strategy is essential. It is our view that a new Garden Village settlement at Hethel in the Cambridge-Norwich Hi-tech corridor is key to that.
The proposed allocation site comprises 351 hectares of land straddling the B1135
Wymondham Road to the south west of the Lotus Car Works site and the Strategic
Employment allocation at Hethel. It is well related to and within easy travel distance of, the A11 to the west. The site is within single ownership and under the control of Glavenhill Strategic Land. It is available for development now.
The site offers a sustainable location for the delivery of up to 2000 homes within the plan period to 2036 at sufficient scale to support its own range of services whilst minimising the impacts of additional housing growth upon established settlements in the Greater Norwich plan area. It is an ambitious strategy that can deliver clear benefits over and above the other growth options.
Through its strategic location and scale, the site presents a unique opportunity to deliver on the ambitions of the Cambridge-Norwich hi-tech Corridor. It can help to ensure that housing and employment opportunities are closely aligned with the ambitions of the New Anglia LEP Strategic Economic Plan which aims to deliver economic growth within Greater Norwich, including in-particular, the A11 corridor. This location is specifically identified in the Strategic Economic Plan for its high impact sector activity and is expected to grow over the plan period.
By planning at scale to the Garden Village model, there is an opportunity to not only
provide high quality housing, long term stewardship and land value capture, but also to understand the needs of the wider local area, which through a Development Corporation or local development agreement, can mean that the local authority is at the heart of the development process, providing leadership and reassurance around delivery.
A new Garden Village can ensure a range of local facilities and infrastructure e.g. new and improved school provision, including a new High School which could serve the new settlement and Wymondham, and also grasp the opportunity for Further Education, potentially linked to the Hethel Technology Park.
Glavenhill Strategic Land broadly support Growth Option 3 to support the Cambridge- Norwich hitech corridor. However, the overall housing requirement number of 7200 dwellings derived from an OAN of around 39,000 is not supported and is considered to be too low. It is considered that a properly assessed housing requirement is in the region of 11,000 to 14,000 new homes.
The New Settlements Topic Paper accompanying the Growth Options Document sets out a list of broad criteria for assessing the suitability of locations for new settlement development. We have used this list as a broad basis for assessing the suitability of the Hethel Garden Village Site and the results show that the site is suitable for development of a new settlement.
The GNLP HELAA assessment concludes that the site is suitable for accommodating new residential development. Glavenhill Strategic Land also conclude that there are unlikely to be any over-riding constraints to development of the site. Glavenhill Strategic Land are committed to undertaking more detailed technical assessment work on key topics, if there is a firmer commitment given to pursuing a new settlement in this location.
Glavenhill Strategic Land respectfully request that the proposed allocation site be considered for allocation within the Greater Norwich Local Plan.