Site Proposals document

While the parish council was unanimously opposed to all other proposed developments within the parish, the council initially came to no firm decision on the only site lying in the centre of Marlingford. The parish plan of 2006 (available online at marlingfordandcolt.wixsite.com/home/parish-plan) concluded that residents'wishes were `at most, only very modest housing development, such as the conversion of redundant buildings'. However, at a well-attended public meeting, called by the Council on February 19th 2018 in Colton Village Hall, no opinions were voiced regarding this development, while strong objections were raised to all other sites in the parish. Out of the seven attendees identifying themselves as residents of Marlingford, four were in favour of development of five houses or less in the village while three were against any development.

In the light of these divided opinions, a more detailed consultation was undertaken with leaflets delivered to 27 houses bordering the proposed site. Fourteen responses were received. Seven responses supported the scheme but unanimously with the condition of single-storey buildings only and suitable environmental screening. In particular preservation of the natural hedges surrounding the land and suitable fencing where the land adjoins another residence. Most responses also raised concerns regarding drainage and difficulties with access. Six responses (including three anonymous) were firmly against any development in the village, while one respondent wrote that they would prefer no development on the land, but that single storey dwellings would be acceptable as long as access was from Mill Road.

The result of the consultation shows that the village is divided evenly on the merits of the development plans, but there is no support for large two-storeyed dwellings.
Development on the site faces significant obstacles - specifically drainage, access and visual impact on a rural environment. However a number of residents overlooking the site support the idea of small bungalows to complement existing housing provision in the village.

The Parish Council is unanimously opposed to the proposed new development. At a well-attended public meeting, called by the Council on February 19th 2018 in Colton Village Hall, there was no support for the proposed development. The residents of Marlingford and Colton Parish value their environment as it is. This was clearly established in the Parish Plan for Marlingford and Colton in 2006 (available at marlingfordandcoltonpc@norfolkparishes.gov.uk). As indicated in the Parish Plan, they value the quiet, friendly and rural nature of where they live, with a very strong appreciation of the local landscape and wildlife. Nothing has happened since then, including various public and parish council meetings, to suggest that those views have changed.

The Council's objections are:

Colton is classified as an Other Village with a defined development boundary: the proposed site is outside that boundary. The proposal is for residential development of approx. 16 dwellings, and open space, with an area of 0.41 hectares.

The site wraps around the existing four dwellings, which are affordable (social rented) housing that was developed by the Saffron Housing Trust; the dwellings are located on a rural exception site, area 0.15 hectares, that was made available thanks to the cooperation of a local landowner. The decision to proceed with the development was taken following a comprehensive housing needs survey, in part sponsored by the Parish Council, and in part by the Housing Trust. The survey involved the Trust sending a questionnaire to all households in the parish; there was also an exhibition for residents of the parish in Colton Village Hall. Given that the existing housing is on an exception site, there is no reason to believe that any further development such as that proposed would be permitted unless it were to be for affordable housing. There may be a need for a small additional amount of affordable housing, but that would only be established after another comprehensive survey; in recent years, no approaches have been made to the Council in relation to this possibility.

The proposed housing density, about 40 per hectare, is significantly in excess of that for the existing four dwellings, where the density is about 27 per hectare. A density of about 40 per hectare seems inappropriate for a rural setting.

The Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment indicates that initial highway evidence has highlighted concerns that the possibility of creating suitable access to the site is severely constrained and that the local road network is unsuitable. Marlingford Road, on the northern side of the site, is single-track with a limited number of passing places, as is the Barford Road on the western side of the site. There is poor access to services and it is likely that the sewerage network, water supply, and possibly the electricity supply would need to be upgraded. A small part of the site is in the designated river valley, the Yare Rural River Valley. The river valley is protected from development under the South Norfolk Local Plan; such protection is reiterated in the Consultation documents.

The Parish Council is unanimously opposed to the proposed new development. At a well-attended public meeting, called by the Council on February 19th 2018 in Colton Village Hall, there was no support for the proposed development. The residents of Marlingford and Colton Parish value their environment as it is. This was clearly established in the Parish Plan for Marlingford and Colton in 2006 (available at marlingfordandcoltonpc@norfolkparishes.gov.uk). As indicated in the Parish Plan, they value the quiet, friendly and rural nature of where they live, with a very strong appreciation of the local landscape and wildlife. Nothing has happened since then, including various public and parish council meetings, to suggest that those views have changed.
The Council's objections are:
Colton is classified as an Other Village with a defined development boundary: the proposed site is outside that boundary. The proposal is for residential development, holiday accommodation and/or staff accommodation related to Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club.
If used for residential development, the site, area 2.44 hectares, might, at a density of 20 per hectare, have up to 50 dwellings: this would be a 60% increase in the number of dwellings in Colton. Colton does not have an accessible primary school, as defined in the Growth Options document: a school within two miles from the centre of the settlement and accessible the whole way from the outskirts of the settlement via a pavement. Further, primary schools in adjacent villages are likely to have capacity constraints. The site is not well related to existing housing in the village. A site immediately adjacent, on the north side, to the Ugly Bug pub (now the Norfolk Lurcher) was the subject of a planning application, 2015/1148, South Norfolk Council, for a time share swimming pool and associated residential accommodation: separation from the rest of the village was one factor in the planning inspector's refusal of an appeal in relation to the application. Parts of the site are known to have an old drainage system. The Colton sewerage system stops at the Norfolk Lurcher. All the sewage in Colton flows by gravity to a pumping station on the north side of the Norwich Road, from there it is pumped south to Barford, and then Whitlingham; for such a relatively large development, there could be a capacity constraint. There could also be capacity constraints with regard to electricity and water supply. In its responses to the consultations for the South Norfolk Local Plan, the Council was opposed to the use of this site for housing; the site was not allocated for development. The site is located on grade 2 agricultural land.
If used for holiday accommodation and/or staff accommodation, the occupants seem unlikely to be involved in the life of the village, both because of the separation from the main part of the village and because the focus of the occupants would be on the Golf and Country Club. It seems likely that most trips between the site and the Golf and Country Club would be by car, which seems inconsistent with the objective in the Norfolk Local Transport Plan of reducing the need to travel.
As indicated in the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment, the local road network is unsuitable: High House Farm Lane is single-track with two right-angle bends and considerable HGV traffic that has been growing in recent years because of the expanding business of Viking Nurseries; the doubling of their glasshouse capacity is nearing completion. High House Farm Lane is linked to the Golf and Country Club by Church Lane, which is single-track with few passing places; Bickerston Hill, in particular, is quite steep with a blind bend, and very steep sides to the carriageway, with no passing place. The part of Church Lane nearest to the Golf Course is frequently flooded.

The Parish Council is unanimously opposed to the proposed new development. At a well-attended public meeting, called by the Council on February 19th 2018 in Colton Village Hall, there was no support for the proposed development. The residents of Marlingford and Colton Parish value their environment as it is. This was clearly established in the Parish Plan for Marlingford and Colton in 2006 (available at marlingfordandcoltonpc@norfolkparishes.gov.uk). As indicated in the Parish Plan, they value the quiet, friendly and rural nature of where they live, with a very strong appreciation of the local landscape and wildlife. Nothing has happened since then, including various public and parish council meetings, to suggest that those views have changed.

The Council's objections are:

Colton is classified as an Other Village with a defined development boundary: the proposed site is outside that boundary. The proposal is for residential development, holiday accommodation and/or staff accommodation related to Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club.

Large parts of the site are located within the designated river valley, the Yare Rural River Valley, which narrows in this area with correspondingly steeper sides; the remainder of the site is on high ground immediately overlooking the river valley. The whole area is particularly visually attractive, with wide views over the countryside, correspondingly the proposed development would be visible from a very wide area. Although remote from Colton it would affect residents because Church Lane and a nearby public-right-of-way are well-used by walkers; the right-of-way runs along the southern edge of the proposed development, partly beside it, and partly just inside its edge. The river valley is protected from development under the South Norfolk Local Plan; such protection is reiterated in the Consultation documents.

Whatever the proposed use, the site would be separated from any existing or proposed settlement, and therefore have significant constraints.

If used for residential development, there would be limited access to existing services. There would be no accessible primary school, as defined in the Growth Options document: a school within two miles from the centre of the settlement and accessible the whole way from the outskirts of the settlement via a pavement. Further, primary schools in adjacent villages are likely to have capacity constraints. The sewerage network would need extension and there may be capacity constraints. The water supply would need upgrading, and possibly also the electrical supply. Several areas are subject to flooding. The local road network is unsuitable: Church Lane, Colton, which runs beside and through the proposed site, is single-track with few passing places; Bickerston Hill, in particular, is quite steep with a blind bend, and very steep sides to the carriageway, with no passing place.

If used for holiday accommodation and/or staff accommodation related to Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club, the constraints listed in the paragraph above, except those in relation to primary schools, would apply.

The Parish Council is unanimously opposed to the proposed new development. At a well-attended public meeting, called by the Council on February 19th 2018 in Colton Village Hall, there was no support for the proposed development. The residents of Marlingford and Colton Parish value their environment as it is. This was clearly established in the Parish Plan for Marlingford and Colton in 2006 (available at marlingfordandcoltonpc@norfolkparishes.gov.uk). As indicated in the Parish Plan, they value the quiet, friendly and rural nature of where they live, with a very strong appreciation of the local landscape and wildlife. Nothing has happened since then, including various public and parish council meetings, to suggest that those views have changed.

The Council's objections are:

Colton is classified as an Other Village with a defined development boundary: the proposed site is outside that boundary. The proposal is for residential development, holiday accommodation and/or staff accommodation related to Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club.

If used for residential development, the site would be separated from any existing settlement and therefore would have limited access to existing services. There would be no accessible primary school, as defined in the Growth Options document: a school within two miles from the centre of the settlement and accessible the whole way from the outskirts of the settlement via a pavement. Further, primary schools in adjacent villages are likely to have capacity constraints. It would affect the villages of Marlingford and Colton by being visible from them, and by affecting the adjoining roads, which are single-track, with limited passing places, and well used by walkers. There is, as far as the Council is aware, no access to an existing sewerage network, the water supply would need upgrading, and possibly also the electrical supply. Several areas are subject to flooding. Part of the site is grade 2 agricultural land.

If used for holiday accommodation and/or staff accommodation, the site is remote from Barnham Broom Golf and Country Club, with a corresponding increase in traffic between the two sites. The route (about 2 miles) through Colton would involve the Marlingford Road, Colton, which is single-track with limited passing places, and Church Lane, Colton, which is single-track with few passing places; Bickerston Hill, in particular, is quite steep with a blind bend, and very steep sides to the carriageway, with no passing place. The part of Church Lane nearest to the Golf Course is frequently flooded. Other routes would be longer. All of which seems inconsistent with the objective in the Norfolk Local Transport Plan of reducing the need to travel.

If it was considered as part of the proposed new settlement, GNLP0415A-G, the Council's objections would be the same as in its submission relating to that proposal; those comments are shown under Honingham Parish.

The Parish Council is unanimously opposed to the proposed new settlement. At a well-attended public meeting, called by the Council on February 19th 2018 in Colton Village Hall, all the attendees were opposed: this should not seem surprising given the scale of the proposal. The residents of Marlingford and Colton Parish value their environment as it is. This was clearly established in the Parish Plan for Marlingford and Colton in 2006 (available at marlingfordandcoltonpc@norfolkparishes.gov.uk). As indicated in the Parish Plan, they value the quiet, friendly and rural nature of where they live, with a very strong appreciation of the local landscape and wildlife. Nothing has happened since then, including various public and parish council meetings, to suggest that those views have changed.
The Council's objections are:
It is not necessary to build a new settlement in order to achieve the housing targets in the Greater Norwich Local Plan. The proposed location is greenfield rather than the preferred brownfield or public land. As the Topic Paper states: new settlements can be an expensive and slow means of meeting housing need, their delivery can be risky and unpredictable and providing infrastructure to support them risks reducing funding for potentially more sustainably located extensions to existing settlements. The proposed settlement, being isolated from any existing settlements, would undoubtedly have high infrastructure costs for roads, water, sewerage and electricity. It is suggested in the Topic Paper that there should be easy access, particularly on foot and by bicycle, to primary and secondary schools and an existing range of retail, health and leisure services in an existing settlement to support the early years of development of the community and to provide choice. The nearest Service Village is Easton where a development of approximately 890 houses is now commencing - it is not hard to see that there could be capacity constraints with the primary school; the nearest high school is the Ormiston Victory Academy in Costessey, about 4 miles away; the nearest surgery is the Roundwell Medical Centre, about 3.5 miles away.
The whole development would represent an extension of the Norwich Urban Area westwards to Honingham and Colton. There would be a loss of visual amenity, increased traffic, noise, atmospheric pollution, and light pollution of the night sky, together with the loss of much attractive countryside and valuable agricultural land. Site D and parts of Sites A and C are grade 2 agricultural land; the grade 2 land that is located in the south-western third of the Food Enterprise Zone (FEZ), Site C, will be lost as the FEZ develops. It is surely not the time to be losing something like 120ha (about 300 acres) of good quality agricultural land.
The area occupied by Site A is particularly attractive with undulating topography and woodland - a Norfolk County Council Maintained Unsurfaced Road, Grange Lane, runs through the site, from Colton Road at the west end to Blind Lane at its eastern end; Grange Lane is regularly used by walkers. Site D occupies attractive countryside and, being on high ground, would be visible from a considerable area. The Council has no comments on Sites E and F other than to say that Colton Wood, a semi-natural ancient woodland, and much of the Yare Rural River Valley, in the area proposed for a Country Park, are already accessible by five public rights-of-way: http://maps.norfolk.gov.uk/highways/.