HINGHAM TOWN COUNCIL COMMENTS
POLICY GNLP0503
Hingham Town Council object to any new sites being allocated for house building in revised local plans to 2038 until all existing allocations in current core strategies have been developed.

Hingham Town Council object to site GNLP0503 being allocated as a preferred option for development.
The Council do not believe that the “Provision of a continuous footway at the west side of Dereham Road from the site access to Pottles Alley” is achievable, this is demonstrated by the existing footpath on the west side of Dereham Rd terminating by number 20 Dereham Rd, before being able to recommence outside number 8 Dereham Rd.
To access the nearest Norwich Bound bus stop via the footway, the Dereham Rd must be crossed twice by pedestrians, in addition the B1108 must be crossed to access the Watton Bound bus stopping point - where there is no defined pedestrian crossing point.

There are road safety concerns regarding additional traffic on the Dereham Road.
Adherence to the 30 mph speed limit is already poor and moving the speed limit north will not mitigate this.
Between Baxter Road and Pottles Alley, many residential properties are reliant on “on street” parking, making this a “pinch point” on the road where continual 2 way traffic is prevented. This issue has more recently become more prevalent with the occurrence of daily parking on the Dereham Road, alongside the Fairland Green , from Pottles Alley to the B1108 junction.
Dereham Road is subject to heavy use by agricultural vehicles.
The site assessment suggests that “Minor carriageway widening may also be required” but does not establish at what point on Dereham Road this would occur and therefore if it would be possible.

There are already long standing concerns regarding the B1108 Fairland Crossroads junction. Junction safety improvements are essential, to support any development in Hingham.
GNLP0503 development would be visually impactive upon the approach to Hingham.
GNLP0503 is documented as being within the 3000m buffer zone to SSSI. In the context of the climate emergency, where several species of wildlife native to Britain are becoming extinct or at risk of extinction the Council are concerned to ensure that housing developments are not built on areas where rare species of wildlife may exist, or indeed, where extension of the urban area will contribute to the depletion of wildlife. Should housing development take place wildlife habitat should be preserved, protected, enhanced and improved.
Hingham Town Council note that this is a small scale development and the Council are of the opinion that smaller scale developments spread over the life of the plan (at a time when housing need was proven) would be preferable, as would the provision of affordable housing for local people.