What do we know about North Walsham's homes plan?

The number of households in a market town could ultimately expand by almost a third of its current size under long-terms plans for an 1,800-home estate.

A primary school, specialist care accommodation and a link road could also be built on the outskirts of North Walsham, Norfolk, which the developers claimed would bring "notable benefits" to the area.

But people living in the town have raised concerns about under-pressure services and increased traffic.

With the planning application for the first 437 homes and a new relief road due to be determined by North Norfolk District Council's planning officers by August and then considered by its Planning Committee in the autumn - here is what we know so far.

The redevelopment of the 105-hectare (259-acre) plot, known as North Walsham West, had been put forward by North Norfolk District Council, which included the site in its Local Plan, and a consortium of local landowners and developers.

The area would ultimately be made up of about 1,800 homes, 200 dwellings designed for elderly accommodation, a primary school, "significant areas of public open space", and seven hectares (17 acres) of employment land, the council said.

A new link road would be built to connect Norwich Road to Cromer Road as part of the project, to manage increased traffic.

This first phase of development covers 95 hectares (234 acres) – equivalent to about 130 football pitches – and would be built between 2028 and 2036. It would comprise of 437 homes and a new link road.

North Walsham West is a "key element" to planned future growth in North Norfolk, with development needed to meet an increasing population and demand for a range of housing types, according to the Liberal Democrat-led local authority.

The market town, which lies between Norwich and the coast, was considered to be one of the most suitable locations for large-scale growth due to its range of services, facilities and transport connections.

North Walsham does not have the significant environmental and landscape constraints" found elsewhere in the district, the council added.

The development was an opportunity, the authority said, to gain a new link road and ease some long-term traffic issues in the town, while providing affordable homes, specialist care accommodation, employment land and public open space.

About 50 public comments have been received by the council in response to the plan, with the vast majority in objection.

"As always with this rush to put up houses, no thought is given to the effect it will have on the people already living in the area," said one anonymous respondee.

"The roads to and from Norwich, Coltishall, Wroxham and North Walsham are already under pressure, especially in the summer months, but again - nothing is being done to resolve the existing problems," they added.

The same issues crop up in the responses, such as concerns over traffic, public transport and a loss of countryside, with a medical practice's written submission echoing those of residents who are worried about GP provision.

Lucy Shires, the Liberal Democrat district councillor for North Walsham West, said the strain on services including GP appointments was a primary concern for residents.

"When we have major developments such as this, we need the investment in our health services upfront because it's not just the residents that are coming that are struggling to access, it's the residents that live here now," she added.

She believed, however, that residents were accepting of the new homes and social housing was in demand.

"It's the wider impact of bringing that many people into a town when we haven't had the investment of services - that's what people are really concerned about," she said.

Conservative MP for for Broadland and Fakenham Jerome Mayhew has written to the authority's planning officer to formally object to the project, highlighting what he said was already "severe pressure" on an approach road.

His constituency includes the B1150, which runs through the villages of Coltishall and Horstead and links Norwich to North Walsham.

He said there had already been "widespread local concern" about safety - particularly around a narrow bridge over the River Bure - but the road's issues had not been considered as part of the housing plans.

His letter claimed the development would increase North Walsham's population by 40%.

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