Residents have raised concerns regarding the latest Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) consultation, branding the district council as “incompetent”.
The proposals suggest an increase in the number of new houses in Reepham from the current 155 to 203 residential dwellings by 2038.
While 15 two-bedroom bungalows have recently been built at the new Ash Tree Care Village development off Stony Lane, the current plan to build 141 new houses on land off Broomhill Lane has stalled owing to Natural England’s requirement to ensure “nutrient neutrality” for the River Wensum catchment area.
Speaking at November’s meeting of Reepham Town Council, forming planning officer and Whitwell resident Hugh Ivins pointed out that the current allocation for the Broomhill Lane site is for “approximately 100 homes”. “Approximately means plus or minus 2%,” he said.
“However, no planning permission for this site exists,” Mr Ivins asserted. “The application to build 141 homes by Lovell Homes is currently undetermined; it could be resubmitted or withdrawn at any time.”
Meanwhile, plans to build a news sports hall for the high school have been removed from the site to accommodate the additional 40 houses – despite “significant” local objections, said Mr Ivins, particularly concerning increased traffic, vehicle access and pedestrian safety.
The town council said it was under the impression that planning permission had been given to build the 141 homes, subject to resolving the nutrient neutrality issues, but would check to see if this has been legally granted.
District councillor Stuart Beadle said planning permission has been given for the sports hall, which is now proposed on existing high school land, but agreed that Broadland District Council should have updated the “approximately 100 new homes” wording in its local planning policy documents. The situation is “a complete mess”, he admitted.
The town council felt the GNLP contained several inconsistencies and did not match the Broadland District Council plan. It also expressed concern about the proposal to increase the number of new homes in Reepham by 25% in addition to the existing 141 houses planned, but without any allocation of land on which to build them.
The GNLP is being produced by Broadland District Council, Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council.
The plan provides the basis for planning decisions for the foreseeable future, providing around 45,000 new homes to meet housing needs in both urban and rural areas between 2018 and 2038. Around 9,000 of those homes have already been built in the Greater Norwich area.
The next meeting of Reepham Town Council will take place on Wednesday 13 December at 7.30 pm at Stimpson’s Piece Pavilion, Bartle Court, Reepham.
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