GNLP0496

Mulbarton has already had approximately 1000 new homes built in over the last decade. The village has 'done its bit' as far as development goes. Already it is impossible to get a doctors appointment within a month, the local dentist will not take on anyone else, the village is awash with cars, poor roads, litter, dog mess and is hanging onto the fact that is is only just still able to call itself a village. The surrounding countryside leading down to the tas valley is one of the last escapes to nature we have left and further development in this area will spoil the valley for good. The road into norwich (b1113) is very narrow in places and poorly maintained, it regularly floods, ques at peak times can be 2 miles long to the junction with ipswich road because of the ridiculously timed traffic lights, and finally the road bears witness to regular serious road accidents. Any further development in Mulbarton will kill the village for ever and it will become another urban sprawl of compressed and unsightly development.

The village has undergone massive enlargement already. Facilities are stretched, and the B1113 is too busy already. There is only one road into the village and that will be dangerous for the numbers of cars using it. The site by the bends will restrict vision of the road ahead. It was said that Mulbarton was not to become a dormitory of Norwich yet that is exactly what is being proposed. There are no job opportunities in our village so it would mean travelling to Norwich with the inherent queues at the A140 junction. The whole transport infrastructure will not cope.

This will be a considerable strain on the B1113. It's already at or above capacity. There is no simple route to the A140. Most houses will have at least 2 cars so the traffic through the village will be that much greater as well as more queues at junctions to get onto the B1113.
The village roads are already struggling. The number of cars queueing for the school and the doctors struggling to cope with the numbers of new residents.

SPECIFIC: This development would have a huge visual impact on the entrance to the village from Norwich direction. The village would immediately appear to be a suburb. So far, the larger developments have been out if sight of B1113 keeping the rural nature of that road and the villages along it.
GENERAL: Mulbarton may be classed as having 'services' but they are all too small to sustain further growth.
The B1113 cannot sustain further traffic - especially at terrible junction with A140 (and the road surface & drain covers are in urgent need of repair).

I wish to put the following points in objection to the current Greater Norwich Development Plan regarding the further urban development of the village of Mulbarton. Whilst I recognise the need for further housing in Norfolk there are a number of issues pertaining to the further development of the village of Mulbarton in particular:
* Both proposed developments are very large and Mulbarton already acts as a service village to several smaller settlements which are being further developed for housing with no increase in the provision of services in Mulbarton.
* There is already the development of Oakley Park in Mulbarton some one hundred and eighty new dwellings which impact on the already stretched local services. It seems irresponsible to plan more housing while the full impact of the new homes is not yet experienced by the village. There is already the necessary disruption caused by a large building site which is accessed along a country lane and through the village.
* In the past the village has developed steadily not with impact of large scale developments which exceed its capacity. Services such as broadband are already lagging behind the demand in the village.
* Services such as education and medical provision are stretched in Mulbarton. With the increasingly aged population and the possible influx of young families in new housing these would be in danger of failing the village through lack of capacity. With the siting of the medical practice and the school there is no logical room for development of either.
* Local amenities such as retail, leisure and social would all be affected to the detriment of the villagers due to lack of capacity. The village's historic core would suffer both visually and with congestion.
* The economic impact of the village community will be poor. Developers funding in the past has been mainly spent outside the village and new promised amenities disappear with the final plan. As a dormitory settlement of Norwich most of the inhabitants "spend" will be in Norwich, especially as scarce local facilities become even more overused.
* Communication links and transport. The B1113 is already congested in the village and at the A140 junction more houses would increase this providing an unwarranted increase of pollution and road maintenance.
* Transport in the village is already congested with a large influx of parked cars from the outlying villages and serving the shop, school and medical facilities. Buses in particular find navigating the roads difficult.
* The significant impact on the ecological balance of the area including surface flooding on the heavy clay base the village is situated on. The report states that this would be hard to mitigate.
* These are greenfield sites where not all the brownfield sites in greater Norwich have been developed or are targeted at other use such as student accommodation rather than meeting local needs. Developers have also land banked sites which could be used sooner.
* The CPRE points of the need for actual strategic housing in the particular area, Mulbarton is also situated in the countryside with the green belt buffer between the village and urban Norwich this is being eroded reducing its economic and environmental benefits.
* Finally the residents of Mulbarton chose to live in a village community with a particular lifestyle and benefits due to its location and nature. If they wanted an urban lifestyle they would not reside here, they value the traditions, values and norms of the village which will be eroded and then destroyed with further largescale development.

Re: GNLP 0315 & GNLP0496
I wish to put the following points in objection to the current Greater Norwich Development Plan regarding the further urban development of the village of Mulbarton. Whilst I recognise the need for further housing in Norfolk there are a number of issues pertaining to the further development of the village of Mulbarton in particular:
*Both proposed developments are very large and will double the size of the current village. The current services and infrastructure can not support such a development. Mulbarton already acts as a service village to several smaller settlements which are being further developed for housing. The local services such as the schools, surgery and shops are already struggling to accommodate the number of residents. With an ageing population and the possible influx of young families in new housing these would be in danger of failing the village through lack of capacity. With the siting of the medical practice and the school there is no logical room for development of either.
*The most recent development of Oakley Park in Mulbarton which on completion will have one hundred and eighty new dwellings already poses significant impact on stretched local services. It seems irresponsible to plan more housing while the full impact of these new homes is not yet fully experienced by the village.
- In the past the village has developed steadily and gradually, not with the immediate impact of large scale developments which exceed its capacity.
*Local amenities such as retail, leisure and social facilities would all be affected to the detriment of the villagers due to lack of capacity. The village's historic core would suffer.
*The economic impact on the village community will be poor. Developers funding in the past has been mainly spent outside the village and new promised amenities disappear with the final plan. As a dormitory settlement of Norwich most of the inhabitants "spend" will be in Norwich, especially as scarce local facilities become even more overused.
*Communication links and transport are not adequate to support further growth The B1113 is already congested in the village and at the A140 junction more houses would increase this pressure resulting in an unwarranted increase of pollution, road maintenance requirements and a higher potential for accidents.
*Transport in the village is already congested with a large influx of parked cars from the outlying villages using the shop, school and medical facilities. Buses and refuse collection lorries find navigating the roads difficult.
*Further development would have significant impact on the ecological balance of the area including the likelihood of increased surface flooding on the heavy clay base the village is situated on. The report states that this would be hard to mitigate.
*The proposed sites are greenfield. Currently, not all the brownfield sites in greater Norwich have been developed, many are targeted at uses such as providing student accommodation rather than meeting local needs. Developers have also land banked sites which could be used.
*Mulbarton is situated in the countryside with the green belt buffer between the village and urban Norwich, this is being eroded, reducing its economic and environmental benefits.
*Finally the residents of Mulbarton chose to live in a village community with a particular lifestyle and benefits due to its location and nature. If they wanted an urban lifestyle they would not reside here, they value the traditions, values and norms of the village which will be eroded and then destroyed with further large scale development.

We wanted to write before the deadline, to express our grave concerns at proposals to develop such great swaths of land in and around Mulbarton - Site references GNLP0315, 0496 & 0195 in particular.

There were approximately 1200 homes in our beautiful village at the turn of the Century - since when there has already been a development of almost 400 houses, and currently one of another 180 in the process of development (which has caused no end of upset and disruption to locals and visitors alike with road closures, burst water mains etc. etc. necessitating much correspondence with local councils as well as the developers!)

So, this village has grown by almost 50% since 2000AD and barely any more infrastructure has been put in place - regarding medical facilities, social/sporting activities, road improvements etc. to accommodate the increase in traffic, footfall etc., not to mention planning permission having been granted for at least 20 new properties in Bracon Ash, and about 40 in Swardeston, our neighbouring villages, and those moving in may well be needing / wanting to join waiting lists for Mulbarton Surgery, School, Clubs and Organizations.

By your own admission the Site GNLP0315 if it were allowed to proceed, would have a significant impact on the built environment and would swamp the existing villages. Access to main roads, in particular the A140 Ipswich Road, would be extremely difficult.

Reference GNLP0496 - this would impinge on the rural aspect of our village at the northern entrance on the B1113 and although this site appears to be close to community facilities (which as mentioned above are already in-adequate) access by pedestrians would only be via non-tarmacked rural pathways across our Common.

Site reference GNLP0195 though a much smaller area, would cause incredible disruption during and following any development, because of its location and access onto the B1113 at an already VERY dangerous junction.

The GNLP should also take into account the proposed windfarm on-shore grid station development in Swardeston which, if it goes ahead, we have heard could lead to large numbers of lorry movements per day during the building phase, which would no doubt take a considerable number of years to complete.

We are also concerned about the on-going proposals for a possible industrial area near the Harford Bridges junction on the A140 with the B1113 - the design of which doesn't lend itself well to cope with current traffic movements.

Developments of this large nature are just likely to make Mulbarton and the surrounding areas dormitory locations for commuters to Norwich, London or Cambridge etc., losing their village appeal and leading to an eroding of the area in this part of South Norfolk.

1. Executive Summary

The proposed allocation site is well located in Mulbarton which is within the Norwich Policy Area. Mulbarton is located approximately 6 miles south of Norwich City Centre and 5 miles to the west of Wymondham. It is a mid-sized service village that provides a good range of services for its residents' day-to-day needs. These include a Doctors' Surgery, Dentist, Post Office, Mobile Library, community centres, children's nursery, infant and junior school, sports clubs, 2 supermarkets, hairdressers, Chinese/fish and chip takeaway, pub and regular bus services to and from Norwich.

Mulbarton is identified as a service village in the approved Joint Core Strategy. As a well-located key service village, Mulbarton is an appropriate place to accommodate new housing development.

The site makes a logical extension to the village to help accommodate future growth. It is not within an environmentally sensitive location where the NPPF would require development to be restricted. Technical Assessments have demonstrated that the site has the capacity to accommodate the proposed development in an acceptable manner and that impacts can be satisfactorily mitigated.

The Indicative Site Plan shows one way in which the site could be developed to accommodate up to 180 dwellings, a site for a new doctor's surgery, burial ground extension and an additional 9.81 ha of Green Infrastructure.

Clear benefits will arise from this proposal as follows:
* Immediately deliverable site to contribute towards housing supply;
* Delivery of affordable housing in line with Joint Core Strategy policy to help meet the significant under provision in affordable housing;
* Delivery of a site for a new Doctors Surgery to serve the village;
* Provision of land for an extension to the Church Burial Ground;
* Support to local shops and services. Both national and local planning policies seek to retain and enhance the provision of local services in rural areas. The new residents from the development will help to support the viability of local services in Mulbarton and, therefore, aid their continued provision;
* Delivery of new public open space with the ability to provide additional Green Infrastructure to the north of Norwich Road if desirable;
* Delivery of a new roundabout and highway/footway improvements which will help to slow down traffic on the approach into the village;
* Connection into and upgrade of existing pedestrian route through Churchyard to south of site to provide shared footway/cycleway access to the Common and upgrade to footway along The Common.
* Financial contribution towards improving kitchen and toilet facilities at the Church to enable increased community use;Provision of dropped kerb crossing point to enable pedestrian access to Farm Shop at Paddock Farm.
* Delivery of over £1,187,000 New Homes Bonus over 4 years to Norfolk County Council and South Norfolk Council to use locally. It is considered that this should be used to help facilitate the delivery of the new Doctors Surgery.

There are no overriding constraints that would prevent this site from being developed and Glavenhill Strategic Land respectfully request that it be allocated in the Greater Norwich Local Plan.

2. Site Introduction and Description

A larger version of this site was promoted by Glavenhill Strategic Land through the July 2016 'call for sites' process for residential development of up to 254 homes, a new Norwich Road Park containing 9.81 hectares of green infrastructure, Primary School site and residential care home for the elderly.

The size of this site has now been reduced following further assessment and is shown on the site plan at Section 3. below. The site could accommodate up to 180 homes, a new doctors surgery to serve the village and an extension to the Church burial ground. The site now extends to 13.27 hectares (including public open space, landscaping and surface water attenuation measures). There is further land available for additional green infrastructure to the north of Norwich Road if considered necessary.

The site is located to the north-east of the village adjoining the existing development boundary. At its northern end it abuts the B1113 Norwich Road which runs north-south through the village linking it with Norwich to the north and Bracon Ash and New Buckenham to the south. It also provides a link to the B1135 Wymondham Road to Hethel Engineering and onwards to the A11.

The site comprises 3 arable fields which are each substantially enclosed by boundary hedging. The north-west boundary to the B1113 Norwich Road is, however, open on the approach into the village allowing views across to the listed Paddock Farm.

The site is largely bordered by existing development to the south and west. The north-east corner of the site adjoins the rear gardens of residential properties fronting the B1113 Norwich Road. Existing houses and gardens on Saint Omer Close form a wedge of existing development between the two northern fields and southern field. These houses are separated from the northern two fields by an area of existing grass and scrubby shrubs. The southern field adjoins residential curtilages and small farmsteads to the south and west. To the east of the site are large agricultural fields and a public footpath runs east west across these and along the southern boundary of the site providing pedestrian access to Mulbarton Parish Church and Mulbarton Common to the south.

Mulbarton is located approximately 6 miles south of Norwich City Centre and 5 miles to the west of Wymondham. It is a mid-sized service village that provides a good range of services for its residents' day-to-day needs. These include a Doctors' Surgery, Dentist, Post Office, Mobile Library, community centres, children's nursery, infant and junior school, sports clubs, 2 supermarkets, hairdressers, Chinese/fish and chip takeaway, pub and regular bus services to and from Norwich.

Mulbarton Infant and Junior Schools are located on The Common and are easily accessible from the site. The site is also well located to take advantage of existing bus stops located on the B1113 Norwich Road within circa 500m of the site, i.e. approximately a ten-minute walk. Half hourly services are available to Norwich.

4. Site Opportunities

Glavenhill Strategic Land have signed a promotion agreement with the landowner on this site and are committed to securing outline planning permission on it and ensuring that it is marketed to an active housebuilder within the next 2 years.

The existing JCS identifies Mulbarton as being within the Norwich Policy Area (NPA). The NPA has been designated to accommodate the majority of planned growth for the Greater Norwich Area due to its close proximity to Norwich and the ability to provide sustainable development both in terms of transport connectivity and the proximity of jobs and services. Whichever of the 6 growth options are chosen, a significant proportion of new development should be directed to Norwich and its immediately surrounding villages, where there is capacity. This is a sustainable approach to locating new housing.

Existing JCS Policy 15 lists Mulbarton as a Service Village suitable to accommodate some housing development. Mulbarton is within easy commuting distance of employment opportunities within Norwich City Centre, the Norwich Research Park, UEA and University Hospital and Hethel Engineering Centre. It is a village where people want to live evidenced by the take up of new housing development that has already taken place in the village. Provision of additional new housing in the village will assist in providing a co-ordinated approach to future jobs growth in the key employment locations specified above.

Mulbarton Neighbourhood Plan policy HOU1 details that new development should be directed to the north of the village. This site meets that requirement and the following summaries of technical assessment work undertaken to date, demonstrate that this site has capacity to accommodate housing growth in conjunction with new local facilities to serve the village.

The indicative site plan (Figure 2 below) shows how this site could be developed to accommodate up to 180 dwellings, a site for a new doctor's surgery to serve the whole village, as well as an extension to the burial ground for the adjacent Church because the existing one is now nearing capacity. Open space areas to serve the development include a new northern Common at the entrance to the village. An additional 9.81ha of green infrastructure to serve wider deficiencies within the area could also be provided to the north of Norwich Road at the entrance to the village. This is also indicated on the plan.

Access to the site would be provided by a new roundabout junction at the entrance to the village. This would assist in slowing down traffic on the approach to the village and would also ensure that the majority of traffic arising from the new development would not need to drive into and out of the village itself for journeys to work. A new doctors surgery site in this location would also help to reduce existing congestion around the school and car park on the Common. A new pedestrian link will be created from the existing footpath to the east of the Church yard to provide direct access from the site to the Common and a safe walk to school route. A dropped kerb crossing point on the Norwich Road will be provided to enable new residents to access the Farm shop at Paddock Farm.

To whom it may concern,

Having seen the Mulbarton map book of proposed new sites for development (http://www.gnlp.org.uk/assets/parishes/Mulbarton%20CP_mapBook.pdf) I would like to make some comments about the proposed sites.
Please refer to section 3.1 of the Mulbarton Neighbourhood Plan (2015-2030) referred to henceforth as MNP for the views of the entire village in regards to scale and location of new residential development
https://www.south-norfolk.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Mulbarton_Neighbourhood_Plan_0.pdf


GNLP0195
Small scale and reasonably well situated in relation to other housing, but issues I foresee are
* land is a flood plain - in heavy rain the stream has overflowed and the land on Partridge Drive is higher so the water spills onto the proposed GNLP0195 site (see S7.3 and Policy ENV4 of MNP).
* access via the B1113 - new entrance would be required by the crossroads, essentially on a blind corner as you can't see the entrance when driving from the North.
* there is currently a footpath and many people (especially but not exclusively dog walkers) use it as a cut through to/from Cuckoofield Lane via the allotments
GNLP0299
Small scale and not badly situated in relation to other housing, but issues I foresee are
* Housing being pushed further from the traditional centre of the village - see S3.1 and Policy HOU1 of MNP.
GNLP0496
Web page below lays out plans for land on named site to east of the B1113 but there is no information regarding the plans for land on named site to west of the B1113.
http://www.lanproservices.co.uk/mulbarton/
Satisfactory location but concern regarding the scale
* Pressure on village services - facilities for education and healthcare are very stretched already - would require significant investment to sustain additional load
* All housing being built on greenfield site

GNLP0315
This is the site I object to most strongly
* The scale is huge - far bigger than the whole of the existing village which has taken decades to develop organically would suddenly more than double in size
* It would ruin the rural feel of the exiting village - no longer being surrounded by fields. All new housing being built on greenfield sites.
* It would be like creating a whole new village from scratch - the site would need all it's own services as there is no way the exisiting facilities in Mulbarton could sustain the additional population.
* Exiting transport links would be woefully inadequate - access to the A140 via Swainsthorpe would need to be massively improved - already difficult enough trying to join at that junction. Junction of B1113 and A140 at Harford Bridge aleady under pressure with tailbacks at peak times - would need improvment. See section 5.1, 5.4 and Policy TRA1 of MNP.


Yours Sincerely,
Ian Haigh

Please find attached comments from Mulbarton Parish Council on all of the proposed site allocations for the area in and around Mulbarton. We have provided comments against each of the individual sites. We disagree with the proposed site allocations and the underlying assumptions.

Our general view is in line with the comments provided by CPRE Norfolk, which you will be familiar with. Your earlier letter of 29th October 2018 stated that "growth will be carefully planned to ensure it is located in the most appropriate locations and will be supported by appropriate and timely infrastructure provision". We disagree that the proposed site allocations and individual site assessments follow this approach.

See attached file.