Object

Representation ID: 22928

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Barratt David Wilson Homes

Agent: Savills

The ‘Sites Assessment Booklet’ for Horsford states:
“HORSFORD, FELTHORPE AND HAVERINGLAND

The catchment of Horsford Primary School brings Horsford, Felthorpe and Haveringland into a village cluster. The school currently has limited capacity.

It is considered that as well as existing commitments and windfall development, approximately 20-50 new homes are appropriate for the Horsford cluster. In addition to the primary school, services include a shop, doctor’s surgery, village hall, library and public house.”

The introduction to the Site Assessment Methodology, states (para. 1.5):
“The scale of growth proposed within each ‘village cluster’ reflects school capacity or ability or grow, plus the availability of other accessible services. Taking account of the timescales for delivery and other uncertainties, such as pupil preference, it has been assumed that a minimum scale of allocation (12- 20 dwellings) can be accommodated in all clusters if appropriate sites are available. To guide development all village clusters have been rated ‘red’ (12- 20 dwellings), ‘amber’ (20-50 dwellings) or ‘green’ (50-60 dwellings) based on information provided by Children’s Services, although this is a starting point and there is flexibility within these ratings, depending upon the quality of sites and the circumstances of individual schools.”

As a methodology, this statement is distinctly insufficient and places undue and unjustified emphasis on unpublished advice from ‘Children’s Services’.

With the Booklet stating that ‘it is considered that … approximately 20-50 new homes are appropriate’ for Horsford, it is assumed that the village has been rated ‘amber’ “based on information provided by Children’s Services’.

There is no other justification as to how the GNDP has arrived at the figure of ‘20-50’ for Horsford.