Honingham Parish Council object to sites GNLP0415 A-G. The proposal of a major development in a rural area so close to the small village of Honingham is unacceptable and completely unsuitable for the area.
The proposed development would lead to the connection of Honingham with Easton, two very different and separate villages, and would destroy the rural community and nature of the area. Honingham is a rural village, and not part of the Urban Fringe as the Greater Norwich Local Plan intends to categorise it. This categorisation is mis-leading and is not representative of the area, its history or those who choose to live there due to its rural nature. By approving these sites for future development, regardless of this being as a reasonable alternative, would destroy the current nature and heritage of the village, swamping it and changing its character forever.
The village has no shop, school, doctors and a very poor bus service and is unable to cope with further large scale development. The creation of a large development such as GNLP0415 would lead to a huge increase in the number of residents having to commute to other local areas to access services, increasing traffic congestion and pressure on these services. There are few job opportunities in the area. This again would lead to an increase in those having to commute elsewhere causing further problems on the local road network.
The area is particularly susceptible to problems with drainage and by removing such large areas of agricultural land this would only contribute to and increase these problems. The centre of the village sits at a low point in the drainage system and is not able to cope with further influxes of water.
The Parish Council see no justifiable reason why this site should be considered as a Reasonable Alternative and by considering it for future development this would lead to the permanent loss of a significant area of the countryside.