Attleborough homes plans delayed

A decision on a proposed housing project in Attleborough has been delayed to give developers an opportunity to overcome objections from neighbours.

Taylor Wimpey hopes to build 21 homes on an enclosed grassed area on Teasel Road, ranging from two-bedroom bungalows to five-bedroom houses.

Breckland Council's development control committee was told on Monday that the scheme was considered acceptable to planners as it was sensitively designed and situated within the town's settlement boundary.

But councillors also heard from people who lived opposite two of the planned two-storey houses, who asked if those houses could be re-designed as bungalows to minimise their impact on existing properties.

Taylor Wimpey's spokesman agreed to look into the possibility.

Committee member Peter Francis said: 'We should delay this for a while and get it right for the benefit of people who have lived there for a long time.

'That piece of land has been there for 20 years waiting for something to happen, so we can afford to wait another month to get it right.'

The committee voted to defer its decision on the application to allow the developer to re-assess the design and layout of the scheme.

Councillors also voiced concern that a green landscaped area in the north-east corner of the development could invite children to play near a busy road junction. A spokesman for the developer said the area was intended as a visual amenity, and would be designed in a way which would deter children from using it for play.

The land, surrounded on four sides by existing housing, had previously been earmarked for a new primary school, but is no longer required by Norfolk's education department.

The planned scheme includes seven affordable houses - one unit short of the 40pc required under council guidelines. But principal planning officer Nick Moys said this was acceptable as two units had been replaced with a wheelchair-equipped bungalow.