Publication

To be consistent with national policy, planning policies should identify opportunities for villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support local services (78, The Framework). This submission is accompanied by a masterplan, which shows that land at Weston Hall, Weston Longville (GNLP0553) can deliver up to 85 new homes to meet local needs alongside two new community buildings.

To promote sustainable development in rural areas, housing should be located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities (78, The Framework). Lenwade is the main service centre of the Great Witchingham, Lenwade, Weston Longville, Attlebridge, Little Witchingham and Morton-on-the-Hill village cluster.

Currently, there is only one allocation for 20 new homes in Lenwade, which is not consistent with national policy where it states that planning policies should identify opportunities for villages to grow and thrive, especially where this will support local services (78, The Framework). The allocation of land at at Weston Hall, Weston Longville (GNLP0553) (as shown on the masterplan) would promote sustainable development in Lenwade by locating housing where it will enhance the vitality of local services. In addition, identifying Lenwade as a village for growth will support the communities of the other villages within the cluster. An allocation of up to 85 new homes is likely to unlock the local school’s capacity issues.

A new allocation GNLP0553 for housing, consistent with the attached masterplan, should be included in the plan within an extended settlement boundary. Please see below the proposed allocation policy.

The Policy Map for Lenwade/Great Witchingham provides two settlement boundaries for one village. The two boundaries exclude existing properties along Norwich Road/Fakenham Road, so that they lie outside of the settlement boundary but they form part of the village. The settlement boundary should be extended to include all the existing built up area of the village and land at Weston Hall, Weston Longville (GNLP0553) to promote sustainable development in rural areas (78, The Framework).