Object
Draft Greater Norwich Local Plan – Part 1 The Strategy
Representation ID: 22673
Received: 16/03/2020
Respondent: Mrs Nicole Wright
FIVE YEAR HOUSING LAND SUPPLY
The words: "The plan provides enough allocations to provide a five-year housing land supply on adoption" should be deleted from the policy. By including them as policy they acquire the status given to development plan policy by s38 Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act, 2004: " If regard is to be had to the development plan for the purpose of any determination to be made under the planning Acts the determination must be made in accordance with the plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise." This removes these words from scrutiny unless one were to accept that the plan itself might have inaccuracies that would be material considerations indicating other than compliance with it. We very much hope that the words will be correct but, if they are not, the consequences thereof must be addressed. They are, by their nature, comment on the policy but not policy. Their inclusion within the policy renders the policy unsound.
The site is ideally situated at the Thickthorn Junction
Gateway Zone on a Green Infrastructure Corridor and the Cambridge Norwich tech corridor. It is adjacent to the
proposed park and ride extension and the planned
Highways England A47/A11 Thickthorn Junction
improvement works.
This proposed allocation was originally put forward for a
larger scale allocation. This is proposed to be reduced in
scale as per the attached plan.
The Stage 2 HELAA Comparison Table identifies the
following potential issues with the site:
Flood Risk and Heritage
However, a recent feasibility study found that there were no insurmountable constraints to development in relation to the above or the following:
Compatibility with neighbouring issues
Site access and transport
Access to services
Utilities infrastructure
Contamination
Ground stability / contamination
Landscape
Townscape
Biodiversity/ Geodiversity
The trustees of the land commissioned a Strategic Gap
Appraisal to assess whether the recent and planned
interventions in the Strategic Gap in any way undermined its function and purpose and whether as a result, there is a need to modify its boundaries or progress a strategy to mitigate the harm and enhance its function and purpose.
The site is ideally located to mitigate the impact of the
neighbouring strategic growth allocations through provision of additional community infrastructure in providing a small number of accessible homes for older people, new permissive footpaths and cycleways to encourage outdoor recreation, and a community hub.
A copy of the Sustainability Appraisal, Revised Site Plans and Strategic Gap Appraisal are enclosed.
The proposals have been modified to ensure that they do not conflict in any way with proposed allocations at
Colney, Cringleford or Hethersett. They will instead serve to mitigate their impact in providing additional community and social infrastructure to address the additional need generated.