GNLP0341

Object

Representation ID: 21043

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Mrs Pam Dormer

Traffic congestion and pollution in centre of Diss.
Historic greenfield site, unspoilt wildlife conservation hub. A public park will destroy wildlife with litter and landscaping.
Green spaces essential for community well being and future generations
Develop brownfield sites first.

Object

Representation ID: 21044

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Ms Jacqueline Baker

It is somewhat dismaying that there are proposals to identify Parish Fields (PF) as potential building land in Diss. It seems such a proposal is an ‘easy-fix’ to meet quotas and deadlines set out by government.
The authorities intend ‘Growing Stronger Communities Together’. This proposal is surely not conducive in encouraging such behaviour in Diss.
Apparently the GNLP will;
1. ‘Identify land that should be protected from development.’ Surely PF is a clear example?
2. The plan will ensure the ‘Infrastructure includes a wide range of facilities and services such as: green spaces..’ Again, PF is a clear example?

Object

Representation ID: 21047

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Mr Daniel Richardson

Traffic safety issues for pedestrians, cyclists, elderly and disabled on congested roads.
Increased traffic creating air pollution and damage to the environment
Environmental damage as ancient trees and wildlife habitat disturbed and urbanised.
Greenfield site should be left alone when many brownfield sites available for development

Object

Representation ID: 21056

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Ms Deborah Pagan

The Parish Fields provide a unique green space - an oasis for wild life - and it should be protected for the people of Diss.

Object

Representation ID: 21073

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Mrs Debra Manning

Object because: 2600 people petitioned to preserve this area.
Diss Town Council have voted against developing the site.
It is listed by Norfolk Historic Environment as 'the only example of a detached landscape park in Norfolk'. It is designated in SN local plan as 'Important Local Space'. D&DN steering group have accepted the site as a candidate for designation as a 'Local Green Space'.It is a conservation area for wildlife Increased pollution from traffic will be harmful.Brown field sites should be developed before this Greenfield site.

Object

Representation ID: 21123

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Miss Cara Phillips

Parish Fields is one of the remaining green areas in Diss, where one can take a breath and shut out the noise of traffic for a few minutes. It is highly unsuitable as a building site as it slopes suddenly and would be really close to the rectory on one side and the doctors' surgery on the other. We must protect a few trees for wildlife and insects. They are as important to us as anything, especially for our mental health.

Object

Representation ID: 21140

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Mr JOHN FARLEY

The field must be preserved for it's ecological, environmental, aesthetic, amenity and historic values.
Ecological: long established flora and fauna habitat.
Environmental: Established deciduous trees consume CO2 and help to mitigate harmful pollution from town centre traffic and home heating fuel systems, in a dense housing settlement.
Amenity, history and aesthetic. The land fulfils the following values, to quote the Planning Portal: A positive element or elements that contribute to the overall character or enjoyment of an area. For example, open land, trees, historic buildings and the inter-relationship between them, or less tangible factors such as tranquillity.

Object

Representation ID: 21157

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Mrs Emma Goddard

I don't agree with development on this important historical green space.
Town council has voted not to support development
Over 2600 people have signed a petition against development.
Security risk to gardens backing on.
Tendency to flood.
Important habitat for wildlife.
Other pieces of land such as north of Diss, just arable land less significant historically ,better for development.
Housing allocation for Diss too big not enough infrastructure to cope - doctors dentists schools and road at breaking point.

Object

Representation ID: 21163

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Mr David Whatley

GNLP0341.
This land has a NAME, and a HISTORY.
Called 'The Lawn' it has been grazing meadows for over 400 years. A landscape feature which is unique and to be found nowhere else in the whole of the county of Norfolk.
'Opening up' and giving public access are not acceptable justifications for building on almost half of this important local open space. The integrity of the emparked landscape feature will be destroyed, and something which contributes to the charm and local distinctiveness of Diss will be lost.
34 bungalows can easily be fitted in elsewhere around the periphery of Diss.

Object

Representation ID: 21198

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Mr Matthew Bryan

I think that this land's importance as an open space, particularly for those living in immediate proximity to the area, is considerably greater than the need for 35 retirement units.

Object

Representation ID: 21262

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Mrs caroline blacker

This site GNLPO 341 is an existing candidate for local green space in Diss and District Neighbourhood plan. It is an excellent example of biodiversity; listed in the South Norfolk plan for open space; rare e.g. in Norfolk environmental record.
It should not be used for housing, but for public enjoyment in a special area of Diss and as an important addition to the diminishing local biodiversity and open space. The objections to the proposal are significant and increasing and should be taken into account in assessing all sites for possible housing development.

Object

Representation ID: 21356

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Mr Justin Brooks

When there are so many other reasonable alternatives for development in and around Diss, questions need to be asked why GNLP considers Parish Fields a ‘reasonable alternative’ site for development especially as it is considered and important open local space and listed in Norfolk Historic Environment Record as NHER33463.
I suspect the dangling carrot of an expanded Medical Centre is clouding judgement. Any development or expansion would have a negative impact on the conservation area and destroy wildlife with the loss of wood-pasture and parkland.

Object

Representation ID: 21918

Received: 12/03/2020

Respondent: Mr Gareth Underwood

Diss is unusual in its sense of being both a market town with a large catchment area, and also is a quiet but thriving historic country idyll.

WHILST I APPLAUD PLANS FOR DEVELOPMENT, i believe a far more radical approach to housing design should be considered.

Currently Diss centre, is littered, with tarmac covered car parks, brownfield sites, the former sites of stick and lathe cottages.

Mount street , chapel st , Shelfanger road x2, Church street .

It is I believe the hegemony of Car Parking use, over the need for Housing, that is bringing unnecessary pressure to bare upon scenic wildlife rarities such as Parish Fields, now earmarked as IN RESERVE for potential development.

To date 2600 local people object to any development, please respect their wishes.

MY SOLUTION,

Bite the bullet , be brave and reclaim all brownfield sites from the centre of Diss, and build high density several floored flats for the over 55s , warden managed, to include a daytime nursery and creche, a community room, and canteen, Hot desk facilities for daytime business start ups ,

it would also help build an integrated environment of young and old. 500 people could easily be accomadated in this way, with current existing land.

At the rail station , the same , but bigger and higher. The existing Industrial silos would help keep it in visual balance.

The current scourge of Essex style low density curvy linear , car and driveway centric housing, is a blight that should have died a death in the 70s. Sadly it didnt!

This is what is proposed by SCOTT PROPERTIES , and must be resisted at all costs, It is not the way forward in any scenario.

"Pasivhaus" principles must be applied in any future housing development. please refer "Goldsmith walk Norwich".



WHAT TO DO WITH THE CARS?

at Diss station 24 car stacking systems must be employed, also at TESCOS , ALDI, and MORRISONS,

A more substantial Stacking system at the train station, and on the east west, west east axis of Victoria road A 1066 ie Roydon and Frenze Scole, 2 more stacking car parks

A PARK and RIDE Bus Shuttle system could operate.

Object

Representation ID: 21961

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Mr David Whatley

I wish to object in the strongest possible terms to the designation of the land known locally as 'The Lawn'in Diss being deemed suitable by the GNLP as a 'suitable alternative 'site for building. This parcel of land, located between the defining boundaries of the roads, Shelfanger Rd., Sunnyside & Mount St. is an historic heritage site which has been a grazing meadow for Four Hundred Years. Within the past two Hundred Years it has been emparked by enclosing it within a landscaped belt of trees, many of which survive to this day. It is one of the features of local distinctiveness which gives Diss its charming character. In my opinion, and that of over Two Thousand and Six Hundred other people who have signed a petition... NO BUILDING IS ACCEPTABLE ON THIS PIECE OF GROUND>... It should be respected as the unique feature that it is; 'The only example of a detached park within a town in the whole of Norfolk'. I believe that the GNLP now has in its possession compelling historical data, sent to yourselves by myself and other members of Parish Fields Friends, which should make you reconsider your decision to regard some or all of The Lawn as an acceptable alternative to development. By virtue of an arbitrary number of 743 new homes to be built in Diss over the next 18 years you are prepared to destroy the integrity of a landscape feature which is irreplaceable and remarkable.

Object

Representation ID: 22112

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership

Parish Fields (aka The Lawn / ‘Land between Shelfanger Road & Mount Street’ GNLP0341) has been proposed as a ‘reasonable [i.e. arguable] alternative’ in the draft GNLP. You said you would like to see evidence why the Parish Fields Friends (PFF) group considers that Parish Fields should not be considered for development.

Over the years there have been several aborted plans to build on the site. Each time South Norfolk District Council argued that it was unsuitable because it is Important Local Open Space contributing much to the environmental quality of the town. Once more, there are development plans afoot, in the present instance involving a trade-off between permitting a development of bungalows and garages on one half of the site and providing land for an urban park of some kind on the other half. Furthermore, the GNLP has now altered its previous position (2018) that judged the site to be ‘unsuitable’ for development.

Please see the attached historical summary, and there follows a list of arguments why PFF considers this site should still be considered unsuitable for development.

It is:
• Listed in the South Norfolk Local Plan as ‘Important Local Open Space’ in the town, along with Diss Mere, Diss Park, old gardens in Mount Street, Rectory Meadow and Fair Green; these open spaces are integral to the town's character and attractiveness.
• Listed in the Norfolk Historic Environment Record as NHER.33463 as ‘The only example of a detached landscape park within a town in Norfolk’, and this status is endorsed by a Norfolk Gardens Trust survey report, 1997 (funded by English Heritage) and the landscape historian Professor Tom Williamson.
• Submitted as a candidate site for listing by Historic England as a rare example of a detached landscape park in a market town setting (case pending).
• A candidate for ‘Local Green Space’ designation in the forthcoming Diss & District Neighbourhood Plan.
• A significant wildlife reservoir and network linked to local gardens, for instance a bat survey undertaken in July 2019 showed that no less than eight species used the site for feeding.
• A notable Green Infrastructure asset which is part of the 'green corridor' linking Diss with its rural hinterland.
• An example of the UK biodiversity priority habitat 'Wood-Pasture and Parkland'.
• Noted by Poet Laureate John Betjeman in his film about Diss (1964) as integral to the character of the market town and its rural links, being ‘a little bit of country coming right into town’, as he put it.
PFF has run a petition (both paper and online) which has gathered more than 2,600 signatures, of which a great many are from Diss & District. It entreated Diss TC and South Norfolk DC to do everything in their power to stop development on this site. The Town Council has recently voted that <The Town Council will not support the development of this site and the resultant loss of any of this historic important open space>. Both local government and townspeople have come together to voice their intense concern for the future of Parish Fields. This must surely count for something in the planning system.
As the attached aerial photograph shows, Parish Fields is integral to the environmental quality of Diss. PFF believe that, given the right circumstances, the site has the possibility of becoming a valuable urban green-space for the 21st century, becoming a cherished asset in this part of Diss, particularly in view of the hundreds of houses planned for the northern side of town. Please see attached vision document.

We believe that the site is a precious environmental asset that should be protected from being sacrificed to provide land for 35 expensive houses, at most. We hope you will do whatever it is in your power to make clear to the GNLP steering group that developing Parish Fields would unacceptable in planning terms, and that it would be an ‘unreasonable alternative’ given all the arguments adduced in favour of protecting it.

Object

Representation ID: 22137

Received: 16/03/2020

Respondent: M Scott Properties Ltd

Agent: Strutt & Parker LLP

Whilst the positivity of the site assessment is welcomed it is disappointing that the site is not a proposed allocation.

The modest development of 24 retirement living units would have a very limited impact on traffic in Diss. Notably as retirement units are proposed any traffic movements would be more likely to occur outside of the AM and PM peak hours and be at a reduced frequency. The development of the site would also enable the opening up of the site for public access, enhancing the value of the open space and increasing the biodiversity value of the land would be a significant benefit to the residents of Diss.

It is our contention that additional growth should be accommodated in the Main Towns within the proposed Local Plan period, and as such, sites such as this should be allocated to allow for this anticipated additional growth. Furthermore, there is a need to identify sites to meet the needs of an ageing population and more sites like our clients site need to be allocated to cater for this particular demographic need. The site is also considered to be the most centrally located site to have been put forward for consideration for development within Diss and as such has to be considered a highly sustainable location and will reduce the risks of coalescence.

the Local Planning Authority will need to consider the site’s existing designation as an ‘Important Local Open Space’. Currently, there is no public access to the space, and due to the site’s enclosure by the surrounding land uses, its contribution to visual amenity is not significant. It is normal for areas of land designated as open space to have a demonstrable public value that is often associated with a sporting or recreational use that provides the area with a more significant visual amenity role.

Whilst the current proposal at the site would result in a minor quantitative reduction in overall amount of open space in the town, in terms of a qualitative assessment, it would provide significant public benefits, especially by enabling public access to at least 50% of the existing area.

Further to the above, Scott Properties has prepared a scheme for the site that would see it developed for a modest development of 24 retirement bungalows, in a sensitive landscape setting whilst also enabling public access that is not currently available to a site that is considered an important local space. The development of 24 single storey dwellings would equate to the development of 45% of the site and will fulfil a specific housing need that is not being met by other sites proposed for allocation within Diss.

The development would also potentially allow residents to downsize and introduce a compatible built form which would respect the existing landscape features. It would also allow for a positive natural surveillance of the new publicly accessible space. In respect of the impact of the development on adjoining residential properties, being single story bungalows any adverse impacts through overshadowing or overlooking would be minimal.

The modest scale of development proposed in such a sustainable location, would also comply with the spirit of paragraph 68 of the NPPF which acknowledges the contribution that small and medium sized sites can play in meeting the housing requirement of an area. It is noted that the two new proposed allocations are for much larger sites of 200 homes, therefore the inclusion of this site would provide the plan with greater flexibility, noting that sites DIS1 and DIS2 were allocated in 2015 and are yet to be developed. Furthermore, the development of retirement living units would make an important contribution to meeting the needs of the ageing population. This proposed allocation represents truly sustainable development with significant social and environmental benefits.

Scott Properties has discussed their proposals with Diss Town Council, Diss and District Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group and the local community through a public consultation event in July 2019, and listened to their feedback. As noted in the Town Council’s consultation response, there has been a lot of local objection to the proposals on environmental grounds, however, this does not acknowledge that the site is currently in private ownership with no public access and as such the owners have a free hand over its future agricultural use and management. Furthermore, Scott Properties has been working with Natural England on the steering group for the Developing with Nature Toolkit for small and medium sizes sites, and early indications show that a significant increase in biodiversity net gain (20%+) could be achieved through sensitive development of the site alongside targeted new habitat creation.

The site is in a single ownership, it is therefore achievable as there are no complex land ownerships or legal issues to compromise its ability to come forward for development. It is available now and would represent a realistic and deliverable development in the current market conditions.

We believe that the Greater Norwich Local Plan should reconsider this site and include it as an allocation in the Regulation 19 version of the Plan. The site is deliverable, suitable, and achievable and will bring much needed new housing for older people in a central location in Diss.

(For full representation, please refer to attached document including agent's suggested policy wording, images and plans)

Object

Representation ID: 22236

Received: 15/03/2020

Respondent: Diss & District Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group

Objects to site being developed as housing.

On behalf of the Diss & District Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group (SG) I am submitting this holding response to the present GNLP consultation. It echoes a similar holding response that you asked Diss Town Council (DTC) to submit, asking for more time to add further detail to its recent consultation response.

In particular I need to give you some detail on the site allocation GNLP0341. This site is known locally as Parish Fields and, as you discovered at the Diss public drop-in session recently, it is held in high regard by the townspeople of Diss and others from the wider area.

As I explained, now that DTC has said that it will not support development on the site it is certain the SG will be considering designating it in the Neighbourhood Plan as Local Green Space and possibly as an Undesignated Heritage Asset. In other words, we will be looking to afford Parish Fields the highest level of protection we can.

It was clear from our conversation that you were unaware of the considerable heritage credentials of the site and I undertook to send you some of the evidence that has been gathered in support of this claim. I have attached a draft of a report put together by Tim Holt-Wilson, local historian and heritage expert. Tim has agreed to assist with the preparation of related material for the Plan proper. I hope his work gives you an appreciation of the value of Parish Fields to the town, not just as an oasis of semi-natural habitat but also as an unspoilt piece if its history.