GNLP2136

some low risk surface water flood risk through northern part of site

Harleston is a small market town with local stores and local produce. Adding more houses takes this away! Adds demand for more main stream stores. Harleston looses its historic old town appeal! Keep Harleston a quite little town! There's no need for more houses or more people. More people would ruin the town and poloute the surrounding life and scenery!

simply put there is not enough infrastructure in Harleston we are having to Que in the morning like in a third world country and if you are very lucky you get to see a doctor or the dentist if we need more houses then we also need more infrastructure.

simply put there is not enough infrastructure in Harleston we are having to Que in the morning like in a third world country and if you are very lucky you get to see a doctor or the dentist if we need more houses then we also need more infrastructure.

GNLP 2136 - Briar Farm - Residential Development - 350 dwellings proposed - Acceptable - The proposed site is large, some 27ha, with a potential residential-led mixed development of upto 350 dwellings. Consideration should be taken on not only the overall impact of such a large development, but the impact on the rural nature of the approach to the town via the A143. If this site is accepted for development, careful consideration must be given to the design and environmental approach to the houses. A plan to plant a woodland area along the perimeter of the development would shield properties from traffic noise from the by-pass as well as providing a softer welcoming approach to the town, and due consideration of the same nature must be afforded to the residents living on Jays Green. It would not be acceptable to put a road exiting from the development onto Jays Green, as this is a narrow road with a difficult junction at the top of School Lane which is only approx. 50 metres away from the start of the potential development. Concerns have been raised as to whether a pedestrian access from the development onto Jays Green would be installed. If this was the case, it should be noted that it is narrow along this stretch of road, with only a pavement on one side. As previously mentioned there is a dangerous junction at the top of School Lane/Jays
Green with no footpath on the road at all. There is already a large number of children using this area from Briar Road and Bullfinch Drive and is heavily congested at school times.
Light pollution and light spillage onto neighbouring properties is a significant issue. There are real concerns over the character of new LED lights and their colour temperature. It is hoped that policies are adopted to ensure lighting of the most benign nature is accepted. A starting point can be found in the information provided in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire AONB planning advice. This is easily achieved if established firmly at the outset for any new works. Colour temperature of 3000k or less with lights fully shrouded and properly aimed to illuminate only the target area would be a wise logical rationale.

This is Redenhall with Harleston Town Council's response to the next stage of the Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP).

History

Harleston is a small, historic market town located in the Waveney Valley which forms part of the border between Norfolk and Suffolk. It is one of a network of market towns, generally located about 10 to 15 miles apart across East Anglia to provide commercial, social and marketing services for the surrounding rural community. This largely remains its main purpose today. It has also developed into a dormitory town and a pleasant location for retired people.

In 1961, the population was 1,809, which was possibly slight less than it was before the First World War. Expansion then started, amounting to 2,284 in 1971, 2,954 in 1981 and 3,725 in 1991. By 2001 it had passed 4,000 and by 2011 reached 4,641. It is estimated that in 2017 the population passed the 5,000 mark. To provide housing for these increases, many dwellings were built on sites throughout the town which had previously provided employment for over 1,000 people. These jobs in the town have not been replaced to the same level and there seems little prospect of doing so. Residents have to travel further for employment and this, coupled with changing living styles, has resulted in increased dependency on cars. The sparsity of public transport has not helped in this regard.

Other than the opening of the by-pass to divert traffic on the main A143 route away from the town centre in the 1970's, there have been no infrastructure improvements made during this period of population expansion. There has also been a decline in other facilities. The town has lost one church and an associated hall, the old youth centre was closed by Norfolk County Council and was saved from possible residential development by the Catholic Church who have allowed for some youth club and other social activities to continue. The Womens Institute Hall and the Oddfellows Hall, both which provided a large function room and regular entertainment events, as well as extensive snooker and pool playing facilities has closed. The Town Council own the Leisure Centre, which has been the venue for a wide range of social activity, and still continues to be so, in a streamlined form, now has a flourishing gymnasium which is used by the wider community living inside and outside the town.
The primary school located in the town, now has to use pre-fabricated classrooms due to many more children attending and will no doubt struggle to cope with further intakes.

The town centre provides a popular shopping venue, but because of its basic layout, was formed before the arrival of motorised transport and there is more frequent congestion on the roads and parking provision often reaches capacity.

Unless these varied infrastructure and social problems are tackled beforehand, residents and the Town Council are unlikely to welcome further new developments and formal objections may be expected at the planning stage.

Today

It is the council's understanding that the submissions received during Regulation 18 greatly exceed the target allocation for housing within the parish. This gives planners the ideal opportunity to consider the most appropriate sites given all the other considerations that must be taken into account during a consultation such as this. Examples that must be given urgent attention in Harleston is parking, school capacities and doctor's and dentists, the whole infrastructure must be looked at first before any large housing developments are built. Of particular concern, is the flash flooding that the town sometimes suffers during sudden heavy rainfall which runs like a river down The Thoroughfare and pools at the end of town towards Redenhall. This situation will not be improved by more permeable ground being used for large amounts of development.

Comments on sites under Regulation 18

GNLP 2136 - Briar Farm - Residential Development - 350 dwellings proposed - Acceptable - The proposed site is large, some 27ha, with a potential residential-led mixed development of upto 350 dwellings. Consideration should be taken on not only the overall impact of such a large development, but the impact on the rural nature of the approach to the town via the A143. If this site is accepted for development, careful consideration must be given to the design and environmental approach to the houses. A plan to plant a woodland area along the perimeter of the development would shield properties from traffic noise from the by-pass as well as providing a softer welcoming approach to the town, and due consideration of the same nature must be afforded to the residents living on Jays Green. It would not be acceptable to put a road exiting from the development onto Jays Green, as this is a narrow road with a difficult junction at the top of School Lane which is only approx. 50 metres away from the start of the potential development. Concerns have been raised as to whether a pedestrian access from the development onto Jays Green would be installed. If this was the case, it should be noted that it is narrow along this stretch of road, with only a pavement on one side. As previously mentioned there is a dangerous junction at the top of School Lane/Jays Green with no footpath on the road at all. There is already a large number of children using this area from Briar Road and Bullfinch Drive and is heavily congested at school times.

Light pollution and light spillage onto neighbouring properties is a significant issue. There are real concerns over the character of new LED lights and their colour temperature. It is hoped that policies are adopted to ensure lighting of the most benign nature is accepted. A starting point can be found in the information provided in the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire AONB planning advice. This is easily achieved if established firmly at the outset for any new works. Colour temperature of 3000k or less with lights fully shrouded and properly aimed to illuminate only the target area would be a wise logical rationale.

GNLP2105 - Mendham Lane - Residential development - 20 dwellings proposed - Discounted - This site is currently in use as allotments, and the town council are of the opinion that this would again give an overbearing approach into the industrial/town area as this site sits adjacent to GNLP2136

GNLP2088 - West of Shotford Road - Residential development - 150 dwellings proposed - Discounted - There are concerns about the narrow access from Shotford Road as this is a long narrow stretch of land which backs onto the existing development of Cherrywood which may add to noise pollution. Any access from this proposed development onto Needham Road will cause problems as it will open straight on to a hill with a sweeping corner making visibility poor. Needham is a historic entrance to the town which has on-street parking causing narrowing of the road to single lane.

GNLP2098 - North of Green Lane - Residential development - 65 dwellings proposed - Discounted - There is no logical way that this site could be accessed given the constraints of the surrounding area. Green Lane is a narrow footpath which leads to the by-pass and there is no route viable through either Lovat Close or Church View. The adjoining site of GNLP2099 has also been discounted (see below)

GNLP2099 - South of Redenhall Road - Residential development -110 dwellings proposed - Discounted - The rising ground from Redenhall Road towards the roundabout is often flooded, due to water running off the fields, this creates problems for drivers entering the town. The approach to the town would be compromised by development overlooking over the main road and would be an unattractive entrance to this historic market town.

GNLP2108 - South of Spirketts Lane - Residential development - 160 - 175 dwellings proposed - Acceptable but not as far as the by-pass - As this site has housing to the west and commitments to the north and east, the council would not be adverse to this site being developed in the future.
GNLP2115 - North of Needham Road - Residential development - Discounted - concerns regarding flood risk at Needham roundabout and loss of agricultural land on the historic entrance to the town. This will join the parishes of Needham and Redenhall with Harleston in areas which play important parts in maintaining historic distinction between the two communities. Access to this proposed site on to Needham Road will cause problems as per GNLP2088.

GNLP2116 - South of Needham Road - Residential development - 160 dwellings proposed - Discounted - for the same reasons as GNLP 2115

The proposal of a large amount of housing assumes a need. Harleston has an ageing population (34% over 65) and with first time marriage at 37years for men and first time mortgage at 30 (11.9% of Harleston) this suggests this development does not benefit Harleston. Simply building in market towns leaves surrounding villages neglected and unsustainable (CLA) while connectivity is poor. There are no large employers nor much public transport(5 buses a day to Norwich)meaning new home owners will be from outside, with jobs outside and needing to drive cars to work (condemned by the AA)

The new housing currently being built in Harleston, despite the Town Council's assurances, has put considerable strain on the town's infrastructure and services. Now you're suggesting a mere 66 acres or 350 more of them?? There are also further developments suggested in Rushall, The Pulhams, Starston and Wortwell, all of whom may have to depend on Harleston for services, putting yet more pressure on the town. It will adversely change the character and appearance of a historic market town. At a time when we are being urged more than ever to protect the nature of our environment the suggestion is to crowd in and concrete over our green spaces. I am concerned, too, at the pressure all these houses will put on the green spaces across the A143 from this development. They contain red-listed skylarks and hares which have been in decline since the 60s (animals we recently celebrated county-wide with GoGo Hares, if you remember) all of which will feel the undoubted pressure of 350 more households snapping at their heels as people pursue their leisure activities amongst them.

Please find attached our representations to the Reg 18 Consultation for site GNLP2136.

The site was submitted in March 2018 and is one of the new sites assessed through the HELAA process.

See attachments

I have looked at the online consultation and am very surprised at the scale of the potential development in the Mendham Lane area of Harleston.

In view of the number of dwellings planned I wish to submit my opinion that the Apollo Rooms continue to be designated as a community resource as, I believe, it is classed by the planning Department.

Harleston has few community buildings or places that can host gatherings, large or small, and it is important that such a vital resource be retained for the Harleston community.