GNLP 2045 Regulation 20 Scoping Consultation

As outlined in the consultation, there are immediate issues which need addressing in this Local Plan including: significant viability pressures which can affect the location and deliverability of growth, and significant utilities and water resource constraints. The significance of these weaknesses must not be underplayed. The Council must take a balanced approach in understanding viability constraints and expectations placed on the development industry. The Council must also spearhead conversations between themselves, utility providers and developers to ensure infrastructure but notably utility and water resourcing does not impede development, including the delivery of much needed housing.
Given the identified weaknesses in the SWOT analysis, a clear housing trajectory should form part of the future evidence base and this needs to be utilised as an effective monitoring tool. Ready made sites, such as Lovell Strategic Lands at Poringland / Framlingham Earl, can ensure early delivery of homes in the Plan-period which will be crucial to improving the current housing position, including provision of affordable housing.

As outlined in the consultation, there are immediate issues which need addressing in this Local Plan including: significant viability pressures which can affect the location and deliverability of growth, and significant utilities and water resource constraints. The significance of these weaknesses must not be underplayed. The Council must take a balanced approach in understanding viability constraints and expectations placed on the development industry. The Council must also spearhead conversations between themselves, utility providers and developers to ensure infrastructure but notably utility and water resourcing does not impede development, including the delivery of much needed housing.
Given the identified weaknesses in the SWOT analysis, a clear housing trajectory should form part of the future evidence base and this needs to be utilised as an effective monitoring tool. This trajectory should ensure a balanced approach to housing, ensuring that homes are planned and delivered within this Local Plan but like proposals at Spooner Row, the remainder of the site delivery can be used to frame strategic development for future plans, including the Spatial Development Strategies which will form the basis of devolution and the Local Government Reorganisation.

Rather than pursuing a broad strategy of ‘reasonable levels of growth in main towns, key service centres and village clusters’, the spatial strategy should place greater emphasis on highly sustainable Key Service Centres like Poringland / Framlingham Earl. Sustainable locations like Poringland / Framlingham Earl provide access to frequent bus services, local amenities and employment facilities.
Furthermore, housing delivery should also not be disproportionately concentrated within the Norwich Urban Area. Instead, the spatial strategy must recognise how targeted development in Key Service Centres can actively sustain existing services and facilities, as demonstrated by Lovell Strategic Land’s site in Poringland / Framlingham Earl.
The Council’s evidence highlights that historically Key Service Centres such as Loddon and Hethersett have seen significant growth and it is now vital to support the growth of other sustainable Key Service Centres like Poringland / Framlingham Earl. New development here can enhance active travel opportunities and support neighbourhood vitality and aligns directly with the sustainable, well designed places as mandated in the NPPF.

The Council should adopt a holistic growth strategy that assesses settlement sustainability through regional connectivity and strategic accessibility, alongside existing amenity provision. Positioned within the Strategic Growth Corridor, Spooner Row offers an established infrastructure baseline that includes direct access onto the A11, Spooner Row Train Station and local bus services. The settlement has strong foundations for sustainable travel options which offer onwards connections to employment and education destinations.
The Council should specifically consider how existing settlements along the Strategic Growth Corridor which have existing services, are accessible and well connected, like Spooner Row, can support its housing requirements, this will in turn elevate pressure of other sustainable locations and allow for a balanced and deliverable housing trajectory. Lovell Strategic Land would support a review of Spooner Row’s position within the settlement hierarchy, as the village cluster designation fails to acknowledge the potential of the area. The Council ought to recognise the areas existing connectivity can act as a catalyst for sustainable development, which both aligns to the Council’s vision of a Strategic Growth Corridor and the Government’s position on development around train stations.
Spooner Row is well placed to accommodate planned strategic and sustainable growth. The proposal for Spooner Row would facilitate a medium to longer-term delivery programme offering the Council certainty across multiple plan cycles and a reliable contribution towards the 5-year housing land supply.

The Council should avoid an over reliance on brownfield land, as the Council acknowledge there is lack of significant strategic brownfield sites capable of delivering housing at scale and the financial viability of such schemes is severely constrained.

It is important that the Council consider highly sustainable Key Service Centres like Poringland / Framlingham Earl which provide access to frequent bus services, local amenities and employment facilities.
Ready made sites, such as Lovell Strategic Lands at Poringland / Framlingham Earl, can ensure early delivery of homes in the Local Plan period which will be critical to improving the current housing position, including provision of affordable housing.

Lovell Strategic Land strongly support the Council in exploring alternative ways to anchor future growth, specifically on looking towards transit-oriented development and focusing on connectivity. Locations such as Spooner Row are well placed for additional growth due to being well connected via rail, bus and road. It can be easier to overcome utility constraints with larger schemes such as Lovell Strategic Lands at Spooner Row, which could crucially offer a solution to a known foul sewer infrastructure issue. On going conversations will be required with Network Rail to achieve improvements to the rail service and the Councils support of strategic development in Spooner Row would assist in these conversations. The Council ought to acknowledge the strategic potential of Spooner Row as a transit-oriented development, especially as it aligns with their Strategic Growth Corridor.

Lovell Strategic Land recommend that Poringland / Framlingham Earl should remain as a Key Service Centre due to the range of services, employment opportunities and access to public transport.

Lovell Strategic Land would recommend that the Council consider the settlement hierarchy through a combination of their historic approach (reviewing settlement provisions and populations) but also assess settlement sustainability credentials through regional connectivity and strategic accessibility.
Currently the Councils strategy of defining village clusters restricts the development potential of highly sustainable and well connected settlements, such as Spooner Row, which crucially sit within the Strategic Growth Corridor.
If the Council were to reconsider the definitions of villages, Lovell Strategic Land wish to acknowledge that Spooner Row was previously defined as a Service Village as it met the baseline criteria of local amenity provision, including a primary school, village hall and public transport access via the train station.
Redefining the village hierarchy would mean development and growth would come forward in the most sustainable locations, utilising existing infrastructure and reducing car reliance. However Lovell Strategic Land would recommend that the Council go further than redefining villages and recognise how settlements within the Strategic Growth Corridor should be at the forefront of future growth and should explore defining such settlements as ‘Strategic Growth Locations’.

The council must work collaboratively with the development industry to accurately map these financial constraints, especially in the context of reviewing policies around proposed affordable housing targets, tenure splits, Nationally Described Space Standards, M4(2) and M4(3) standards to avoid suppressing development viability.
The Council should campion working closely with utility providers and central government to unlock critical infrastructure improvements required to encourage and support development within the region. Securing absolute certainty regarding wastewater treatment capacity and any future upgrades is essential in order to overcome the current barrier to housing delivery.