Future of Hethersett in the spotlight

IAN CLARKE

24 March 2010

The future of Hethersett came under the spotlight last night when a blueprint of how at least 1,000 new homes could be incorporated into the village was unveiled at a lively public meeting.

Families were invited last Friday and Saturday to workshops to explore the future development of a village on the outskirts of Norwich and last night, at Hethersett High School, the feedback from those meetings was given.

More than 80 people attended the meeting and while most were against any kind of development, some had participated in the workshops over the weekend.

The workshops, which were attended by about 350 people, revealed that people wanted better leisure facilities, improved infrastructure and transport links, more health and dental provision as well as the retention of the character of the village.

The events were organised by Ptarmigan Land and architects John Thompson and Partners (JTP) who are acting on behalf of a group of landowners called Hethersett Land.

Charles Campion from John Thompson and Partners said that following feedback from the workshops a vision of up to 1100 homes for the area had been drawn up and would see the north of Hethersett expanded into a series of hamlets - each separated from one another, and from the existing village, with green spaces, but essentially retaining the “character” of a village.

He also revealed that a second village centre is also proposed, next to the existing village hall, which would link the existing and new communities, and which is focused around a picturesque village green and would include a range of new facilities and a new primary school.

Another proposal discussed was to create a new green at the entrance to the village, opposite the King's Head pub on Queen's Road, which provide an “attractive gateway” to the village.

Speaking after the meeting, Trevor Radley, 39, from Melton Court, Hethersett, said: “I'm not happy because they want to destroy my village but I am happy that they were being honest.”

Resident Malcolm Goldspink said that the proposals were “pie in the sky”. He said: “If they say there's going to be 1100 houses there's probably going to be more. I like what could happen at the village hall, but the road system could be a disaster.”

Hugo Kirby, managing director of Ptarmigan Land, said he thought the meeting had been very interesting. He said: “No-one said anything that I wasn't expecting or hadn't heard before. We respect their views and have done our utmost to produce a plan which deals with as many of those issues as we possibly can.”

Organisers say the community planning weekend was in response to a proposal by the Greater Norwich Development Partnership - a collection of local councils - that new homes should be built in the village between now and 2026.

The GNDP's Joint Core Strategy - a blueprint for where homes should be built - has earmarked Hethersett as a potential site for 1,000 new homes, but consultants acting for the landowners are not convinced that would be enough homes to generate infrastructure improvements such as new schools and are looking at whether there could be more.

A meeting to discuss the new vision for Hethersett is to be held at Hethersett Village Hall, Back Lane, Hethersett on Thursday, May 13 at 6.30pm.