GNLP 2045 Regulation 20 Scoping Consultation

The Parish Council considers that it would be prudent for the GNLP 2045 to review the purpose and make-up of the Key Service Centres within the plan, to ensure that they remain appropriate and continue to add value to the planning process.

Framingham Earl Parish Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Greater Norwich Local Plan 2045. We recognise the need to provide for housing and employment growth, but believe that future development must be proportionate, sustainable and properly supported by infrastructure.

The Parish Council is particularly concerned about the cluster of potential development sites around the junction of the A146 and B1332. If permitted, these could begin the process of eroding the remaining countryside which separates Poringland, Framingham Earl, Framingham Pigot, Caistor St Edmund and Stoke Holy Cross. The cumulative impact of these sites needs to be considered, rather than assessing each proposal in isolation.

The Parish Council is concerned that incremental development of this kind could lead to the gradual coalescence and urbanisation of settlements, with a consequent loss of landscape and recreational amenity. The experience of development along the eastern section of the Northern Distributor Road demonstrates how this process can alter the character and amenity of the countryside around Norwich.

The Parish Council also considers that the distribution of future housing should recognise where growth has already been delivered. Under the previous GNLP, Key Service Centres were expected to provide approximately 8% of housing growth, but they actually accounted for 16% of housing delivered between 2018 and 2025. Poringland/Framingham Earl has therefore already made a substantial contribution to the area's housing requirements.

It is not unreasonable for the GNLP 2045 to expect areas which have delivered less than their previous share to make a greater contribution to future housing requirements, where sustainable and appropriate, before placing further pressure on settlements which have already more than delivered.

The Parish Council therefore asks that the GNLP 2045:
- takes account of actual housing delivery as well as future requirements;
- assesses the cumulative impact of development around the A146/B1332;
- protects the remaining countryside and settlement gaps;
- properly considers highway, drainage, school and other infrastructure capacity; and
- distributes future growth fairly across Greater Norwich rather than continuing to concentrate development in areas which have already made a substantial contribution.

The Parish Council supports sustainable growth but considers that Poringland/Framingham Earl should not automatically be expected to accommodate further substantial development simply because it is a Key Service Centre.