The Town and Country Planning Association underlines the need for stand alone, sustainable communities such as the planned eco-community at Rackheath, near Norwich, in a new policy statement, A Vision for Rural England.

Its conclusions mirror plans being put forward by the Greater Norwich Development Partnership for jobs and homes growth in greater Norwich including the new 4,200-home eco-community at Rackheath.

Andrew Proctor, who is leader of Broadland District Council and chairman of the GNDP, said: “It’s heartening that such an authoritative body as the Town and Country Planning Association shares our views about growth.

“Their research and new policy paper highlights that piecemeal development will not solve the country’s affordable homes crisis, and also backs our approach for sustainable development with good transport links between homes and jobs.

“The report represents a ringing endorsement of the vision we have for steady and sustained growth and prosperity in our part of Norfolk, taking into account the rural economy, climate change and the localism agenda.”

The report’s lead author and TCPA policy council member Trevor Cherrett said: “New communities offer a powerful opportunity to deliver much needed housing for our rural areas in a holistic and comprehensively planned way, rather than through piecemeal development.

“The exact opposite to urban sprawl and ‘bolt-on estates’, not only can they deliver more housing with potentially less environmental impact, they also present a significant opportunity to embed community governance structures, create jobs, and promote low-carbon living in high-quality, sustainable and inclusive places.”

The Rackheath development is part of a 37,000 homes and 27,000 jobs strategy being put forward by the GNDP – which is made up of Broadland, Norwich City, South Norfolk Councils and Norfolk County Council – to manage the delivery of growth in the area over the next 15 years.

The strategy envisages building on brown field land wherever possible, but recognises that green field sites will have to be used to meet the area’s growing demand for jobs and homes.

Adoption of the strategy was the subject of a legal challenge from opponents to the growth plans in December, and High Court judge Mr Justice Ouseley is expected to deliver his reserved judgement soon.

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Notes to editors: The Town and Country Planning Association’s policy statement: A Vision for Rural England, can be found at http://www.tcpa.org.uk/data/files/TCPA_Rural_Policy_Statement.pdf

For further media information please contact Paul Durrant, Press Officer, Broadland District Council, on 01603 430536 or at paul.durrant @broadland.gov.uk

The Government today (14 December) announced an £86.5m allocation for the NDR from Postwick to the A140 (Norwich Airport), including the critical Postwick Hub junction improvement (see notes below).

Full details are available on Norfolk County Council website

The Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) made up of Norwich, South Norfolk and Broadland councils is planning a Joint Core Strategy that will see 37,000 homes and 27,000 new jobs delivered by 2026.

After six weeks of consultation with house builders, parish councils and other interested parties, the partnership is being recommended to set the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) at rates below those first put forward.

The levy is a new charge which local authorities are empowered to charge on most types of new development, providing extra resources for investment in projects such as roads, parks, schools and sports and community facilities on top of funding provided by Government.

GNDP chairman Andrew Proctor said: “We have carefully listened to the views put forward and recognise the tough economic conditions out there. Our response is to reduce the charges so that they are more equitable for developers while still helping deliver the building blocks and infrastructure associated with growth on this scale.”

A meeting of the GNDP board on December 15 is being asked to recommend to the three constituent authorities that the levy is set at £115 per square metres for properties in Norwich and parts of Broadland and South Norfolk closest to the city (Zone A) and £75 in the rural parts of Broadland and South Norfolk (Zone B) covered by the Joint Core Strategy.

The figures compare with initial recommendations of up to £160 for Zone A and mean developers would have had to contribute about £15,000 per property. Under the new proposal, this falls to about £11,000 per property. Zone B charges would remain unchanged, meaning a contribution from developers of about £7,500 per property.

The GNDP estimate income will be about £220m over time, with some of the money being passed to town and parish councils and community organisations within the city council area to decide how it is spent locally. The GNDP has already agreed in principle for up to £40m in CIL funding being invested in measures that take forward the Norwich Area Transport Strategy, including the Northern Distributor Road.
 
Mr Proctor added: “Without key infrastructure we can not hope to create the thriving communities which people want to live in and this levy will go a long way to achieving that vision.

“It gives local authorities extra resources to invest in these facilities and also gives developers greater certainty and clarity about their role and contribution.

“But after talking and listening to them, we appreciate that they are facing challenging conditions at present, hence the reduction we are now proposing.”

Until the introduction of the levy, developers and councils had to negotiate individual planning agreements for each new project and as a consequence only a minority of developments contributed to the infrastructure needed to support development.

The GNDP meeting on December 15 will be held in the council chamber at Norwich City Hall, 10am-12noon, and is open to the public to attend.

Community Infrastructure Levy: Detailed proposals and draft regulations for reform – Consultation

This consultation seeks views on the detailed implementation of the Government’s proposals to the Community Infrastructure Levy.  This includes changes requiring local authorities to pass a meaningful proportion of receipts to the neighbourhoods where the development that gave rise to them took place.  Details of the consultation can be found here:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/cilreformconsultation

The Government has also published a document that explains how the Community Infrastructure Levy Collection and Enforcement provisions work in practice. It provides information for local authorities and other interested parties about collecting and enforcing the levy.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/cilcollectionenforcement