Support

Representation ID: 22967

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Barratt David Wilson Homes

Agent: Pegasus Planning Group

Our client supports the Councils’ approach to focussing growth based on the hierarchy of settlements in the Greater Norwich area. This approach will result in the necessary future growth needs being accommodated principally in locations with the best access to jobs, services and existing and planned infrastructure.

In accordance with the sustainable growth strategy the Councils should look to maximise the use of land in existing sustainable locations, rather than promote homes in locations that need significant infrastructure to make them sustainable. Furthermore, the densification of sites that have already been identified to accommodate housing will maximise the use of existing social and transport infrastructure and minimise disruption to existing communities.

At the top of the Sustainable Growth Strategy hierarchy is the Norwich urban area, which includes the fringe parish of Cringleford. Within this parish 1,200 homes were allocated through the Cringleford Neighbourhood Plan and consent has been granted for 1,300. As part of the Greater Norwich Local Plan an uplift of 360 homes is proposed across two sites (GNLP0307 and GNLP0327).

Maximising the use of land in deliverable sites within the higher order settlements of the identified hierarchy should be the first approach that the Greater Norwich Local Plan takes to accommodating its housing numbers. Whilst our client’s site (GNLP0307) is proposed to accommodate part of the proposed uplift of 360 homes for Cringleford these new homes are split between the remaining land on our client’s site and the adjacent site (GNLP0327). Both these sites have a combined net developable area of approximately 13.5ha, which would result in a net density of only 26 dwellings per hectare (dph) if the uplift in the number of new homes were restricted to only 360. The figure of 26dph is well below the average density of 44dph that has been approved on the Newfound Farm site and would not accord with paragraphs 122 and 123 of the National Planning Policy Framework 2019 (NPPF) that require planning policies to ensure the efficient use of land and identify the importance of avoiding homes being built at low densities, especially in sustainable locations.

We have submitted evidence through the Site Allocations consultation to demonstrate that the remainder of the BDW site at GNLP0307 has the capacity to deliver approximately 500 homes and that the potential delivery at this site should be increased accordingly.

Our support for this question is therefore caveated by our related request to increase the number of homes that can be delivered at the preferred allocation in Cringleford.