Greater Norwich Local Plan – Updated January 2020

Update February 2020

We have received an email about the latest iteration of the Greater Norwich Local Plan which has been issued for consultation. The GNLP sets out possible sites for further housing development as well as areas for commercial and business development. Some of the sites listed have already been approved under other arrangements or are part of longer term plans.

The nearest sites to Eaton Village are the extension to the McArthy and Stone site on Bluebell Road and proposed additional student accommodation on the site of the UEA Depot adjacent to Bluebell Road by the North Park Avenue junction. There are other sites in the surrounding area that maybe of interest to you. There is an interactive map of the plan with links to enable comments to be made.

Information about how to get involved is set out below. Please note that any responses have to be submitted by 16 March 2020.

Dear Consultee

 Greater Norwich Local Plan

Regulation 18 Draft Consultation, 29 January – 16 March 2020

 The Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) is being produced by Broadland District Council, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council working together with Norfolk County Council through the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP).

 Regulation 18 draft plan publication consultation on Document 1: The Strategy and Document 2: Sites Plan will commence at 9am on Wednesday 29 January and will close at 5pm on Monday 16 March 2020.

 We are seeking your views on the draft strategy and site allocations for consideration for future development in the GNLP. You can find further information and make comments online at www.gnlp.org.uk. Note, the draft plan does not contain any sites in smaller South Norfolk villages as South Norfolk Council intend to prepare a separate village clusters plan covering new and carried forward sites for housing in their village clusters.

 This current consultation follows the ‘Call for Sites’ and ‘New, Revised and Small Sites’ consultations. More details about these consultations can be found at www.gnlp.org.uk.

 Hard copies of consultation documents and maps are available to view at the following deposit points:

·         Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich (main reception)

·         Millennium Library, The Forum, Norwich (reception at Norfolk Heritage Centre on the second floor)

·         Norwich City Council, City Hall, St Peters Street, Norwich (use telephone in main entrance hall to request)

·         Broadland District Council, Thorpe Road, Thorpe St Andrew (main reception)

·         South Norfolk Council, Cygnet Court, Long Stratton (main reception)

 The quickest and easiest way to respond to the consultation is online at www.gnlp.org.uk but if you are unable to respond online please email your comments to gnlp@norfolk.gov.uk or contact us on 01603 306603 to request a response form.  You can also email or phone us if you need consultation information in large print, audio, Braille, an alternative format or a different language.  All responses must be received by 5pm on Monday 16 January 2020.

 Kind Regards

 Mike Burrell

Greater Norwich Planning Policy Team Manager

 General Enquiries

Tel: 01603 306603  or Email: gnlp@norfolk.gov.uk  

Update November 2018

The second consultation on the Greater Norwich  Local Plan (GNLP) covering New, Revised and Small Sites has now been launched by the GNDP.  None of the sites proposed are within the EVRA area.

You can read the plan and see the sites covered by visiting the GNLP website at www.gnlp.org.uk

Below is the email sent to EVRA about the consultation:

Greater Norwich Local Plan
Regulation 18 Consultation – New, Revised and Small Sites
29 October – 14 December 2018

The Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) is being produced by Broadland District Council, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council working together with Norfolk County Council through the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP).

Regulation 18 public consultation on New, Revised and Small Sites for the GNLP will commence at 9am on Monday 29 October and will close at 5pm on Friday 14 December 2018. 

We are seeking your views on new, revised and small sites put forward by landowners, agents and developers for consideration for future development in the GNLP.  You can find further information about the sites and make comments online at www.gnlp.org.uk .  It is very important to note that this is an early consultation stage and no final decisions have been made on any sites.

This current consultation follows an initial Regulation 18 consultation that took place between January and March 2018 which asked for views on more than 600 suggested sites and wider strategic planning issues.  More detail about this first stage of consultation can be found at www.gnlp.org.uk.  Approximately 240+ new sites or revisions to existing sites were put forward during the consultation and it is these sites that we are now asking for your views about.  In addition this current consultation also includes small sites below 0.25 hectares, which have not been consulted on previously.  Except for the sites we have been asked to revise, we are not consulting again on the sites we asked for your views on during the January to March 2018 consultation.  Only those parishes which contain new, revised or small sites are included in the current consultation.

A few key points should be noted about this latest consultation on sites:

·         An initial Housing and Economic Housing Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) has been undertaken for the newly submitted and revised sites which should help you make your comments.  Further detailed site assessment work will be needed before a site can be considered for allocation in the GNLP so the inclusion of a site as potentially suitable for development in the HELAA does not confer any planning status on that site, or any commitment it will brought forward for development.

·         Small sites below 0.25 hectares have not been included in the HELAA as they are below the site size threshold set in the methodology.  Due to their size the small sites are not proposed to be allocated individually in the plan, instead we will consider them in the context of extending/altering settlement boundaries to allow for smaller scale development to come forward.

·         Far more land has been submitted for consideration than will be needed in the GNLP.  Many sites will be inappropriate for allocation due to constraints (such as landscape, flood risk, poor access to service etc.) and others, whilst not unacceptable in principle, will be less suitable for allocation than “competitor” sites.  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.

·         The current list of sites will need to be refined.  Some sites, or parts of sites, have been submitted twice (once by the landowner and once by a land promoter/agent), some sites are already allocated in an adopted local plan and have been resubmitted (perhaps with requests to change the allocation boundary, to update adopted policy clauses or alter the mix of development types proposed) and some sites may now have planning permission.

·         It is also possible that further sites will be promoted during the production of the GNLP.

Hard copies of consultation documents and maps are available to view at the following deposit points:

·         Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich (main reception)

·         Norwich City Council, City Hall, St Peters Street, Norwich (2nd floor reception)

·         Broadland District Council, Thorpe Road, Thorpe St Andrew (main reception)

·         South Norfolk Council, Cygnet Court, Long Stratton (main reception)

The quickest and easiest way to respond to the consultation is online at www.gnlp.org.uk but if you are unable to respond online please email your comments to gnlp@norfolk.gov.uk or contact us on 01603 306603 to request a response form.  You can also email or phone us if you need consultation information in large print, audio, Braille, an alternative format or a different language.  All responses must be received by 5pm on Friday 14 December 2018.

 Kind regards –  Mike Burrell – Greater Norwich Planning Policy Team Manager

Posted by Chris Stebbing 5 November 2018

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Update February 2018

The site proposals under the Greater Norwich Local Plan were published for consultation in January and the Consultation closes on Thursday 15th March 2018.  The GNLP will affect everybody since it will lead to more houses being built, many in areas that are currently green space. You can read more about the plan on the GNLP website at: http://www.gnlp.org.uk/

The site proposals for the whole of the GNLP area are at: http://www.gnlp.org.uk/site-proposals/

The site proposal maps within the Norwich City boundary identify areas which could be developed and include all the land along the west side of Bluebell Road through to the UEA. There are no sites identified in Eaton Village. The site proposal plans for Norwich can be read at:  http://www.gnlp.org.uk/assets/parishes/Norwich_mapBook.pdf

The Yare Valley Society are greatly concerned about the extent of the proposals and the risk to the Yare Valley through further development. This is what they have to say:

Developers eye up green space in the Yare Valley

Enjoy a relaxing stroll in the Yare Valley? Value the wildlife of the Valley? All could change.

Many were dismayed by the controversial decision to allow Norwich Rugby Club to build a large clubhouse, road and car parking on the UEA Playing Fields. Have the developers smelt blood? They are certainly back for more, the Rugby Club included. What are they after? The woodlands between Colney Lane and the river – built on. The donkey fields between Bluebell Road and the river – built on. Just a taste of how they see the future of the Valley.

The developers are having their say. Now is the time for you to have yours!

No decisions have yet been made, and there is everything to play for. A new local Plan for Greater Norwich is being drafted. Developers are telling the Planners the sites they want to develop. Decisions will be made on which, if any, of these sites should go forward in the new Local Plan. The Planners ask for your help, before 16th March, in deciding what might be best for the community.

For the maps of the threatened areas go to http://www.gnlp.org.uk/site-proposals/, and look under Colney, Cringleford, and Keswick. (These show most of the Norwich sites as well).

You might point out to Planners the importance to you of safeguarding the integrity of the Yare Valley, (in current Local Plans it is identified as a “Strategic Green Infrastructure Corridor”), and that developers have proposed more than enough sites outside the Corridor to meet the expected growth in housing and employment needs.

As well as commenting on sites in the consultation, responses to the question on the environment would be helpful. Start at www.gnlp.org.uk.

For help and ideas see www.yarevalleysociety.org.uk. (and click Planning).

Previous posts November 2016

A new Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) was published on 4 November 2016 and sets out a number of sites identified for possible development. Sites nearest to Eaton Village include the west side of Bluebell Road from just beyond Bartram Mowers through to the UEA which is currently open green space and further areas of the UEA campus site.

At this stage the GNLP identifies potential sites for development and further processes will lead to a final list and, presumably, an opportunity for the public to have their say. The GNLP includes many green open spaces around the City which would be a great loss should development proceed on these.

Take a look at the City Council website and the proposals. There are several long documents so a lot to take in but the impact on the City and the greater Norwich area could be quite significant should this proceed in full. However, it is likely that some sites will be deemed unsuitable or that a need for community open spaces overrides the race for housing development.

Here is a link to the City Council website for the Greater Norwich Local Plan:

http://www.greaternorwichgrowth.org.uk/planning/greater-norwich-local-plan/

Here is a link to the combined plans for the submitted sites. Pages 10 to 12 set out the proposals for Eaton Ward:

http://www.greaternorwichgrowth.org.uk/dmsdocument/2172