New drive to find sites for thousands of new Norfolk homes

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A fresh hunt is under way to find sites where thousands of extra houses could be built in Norwich, Broadland and South Norfolk over the next 20 years.

Changes in government housing targets mean Norwich City Council, Broadland District Council and South Norfolk Council have to find sites which would provide almost 2,600 homes a year between now and 2046.

Council officials are urging landowners, developers and other interested parties to put forward potential sites, so they can consider whether they should be included in a blueprint which will shape where housing could be acceptable.

Under a blueprint for where homes could be acceptable - known as the Greater Norwich Local Plan - the Greater Norwich Development Partnership had identified where 45,000 new homes could be built between 2018 and 2038.

The Greater Norwich Local Plan allocates land which could be acceptable for new homes and the creation of jobs (Image: Greater Norwich Local Plan)

But since that plan was adopted in 2024, the government has increased the housing targets for Greater Norwich by 34pc.

That has created the requirement for a new plan detailing where 2,600 homes a year could be built - up from 1,929 homes a year under the previous plan.

The councils have just reopened their 'call for sites'. An initial call for sites was launched earlier this year, but had to be put on hold because of the local elections.

The renewed call for sites will run until Saturday, July 13.

Council officials say they are particularly keen to receive submissions for housing on redeveloped brownfield sites and for potential locations for gypsy and traveller sites.

The need to find sites for new homes could lead to the revival of previously mooted proposals for a new town or garden village.

During the formulation of the previous plan, such settlements were proposed at Honingham Thorpe, Hethel and Silfield, but they were not included in the plan at that time.

Independent inspectors will need to scrutinise the plan before it can be adopted.

Inclusion in the plan makes it more likely councillors will grant planning permission for proposals which come forward for that land, while it becomes easier for the council to reject schemes on sites not included within the plan.

South Norfolk Council leader Daniel Elmer (Image: South Norfolk Council)

Daniel Elmer, Conservative leader of South Norfolk Council and chairman of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership, previously expressed his frustration at the change in the housing targets.

He said: "We have always built in the countryside, but what is happening here is that the government is forcing more homes into Norfolk to protect London from that.

"While we will proceed with this, and we have to proceed with this to spare our communities from speculative development, it is probably worth saying that we do so under a degree of protest."

Sites can be put forward at https://gnlp.oc2.uk/document/89

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