Minutes:
Click here to view a recording of this item on YouTube.
N Patton, Housing Strategy Manager and member of the West Winch project team introduced colleagues from NCC, David Allfrey, Assistant Director - Infrastructure Delivery and Jon Barnard - WWHAR Project Manager.
The Board received a presentation (copy attached to the Agenda).
The Chair thanked officers for the presentation and the ongoing work involved with the project. For the benefit of the public viewing the meeting on You Tube, the Chair provided an overview of why the Borough Council together with other local authorities were required to deliver a certain amount of houses specified by Government on annual basis to meet the housing demand within the Borough. The Chair highlighted that if the Council did not meet the target set out by Government, a penalty would be incurred and outlined the importance and drivers of the 4,000 homes proposed for West Winch.
The Chair invited questions and comments from the Board.
Councillor Kemp commented that she had expected to see the master plan for the 4,000 new houses but all she could see was a map coloured showing fields divided up for housing and that the infrastructure required for a community had not been identified on the plans. Councillor Kemp stated that in her view, therefore, the master plan was in its early stages and not ready for consultation. Councillor Kemp added that area did not bear CIL money for infrastructure which was an issue for walking and cycling links into the town. Councillor Kemp commented that the flood issues in West Winch had not been addressed by either the Borough Council, Norfolk County Council or developers.
Under Standing Order 34, Councillor de Whalley addressed the Board and echoed the concerns raised by Councillor Kemp. Councillor de Whalley expressed concern regarding contingency plans with the rate of inflation rising, likely changes to Building Regulations and Planning Requirements as the Council moved towards net zero economy and would like assurances that there was contingency and adaptability towards a net zero economy. Councillor de Whalley commented on the need for improvements to both the rail network and cycling routes.
Councillor Morley commented that Councillor Kemp had made significant comments which needed to be addressed.
In response to Councillor Morley on the trigger point for the building of 800 homes in advance of the planning application being submitted in advance of the planning application for the access road, the Housing Strategy Manager clarified that the Hopkins Homes application to be determined later in 2022 was for 1,100 but within the existing capacity of the A10 only 300 homes could be delivered prior to the housing access road being in place and explained that this did not stop developers submitting planning applications and that the master plan, the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) and comments from the Highway Authority would be taken into considering when application were determined. The Housing Strategy Manager NP outlined preferred option for the delivery of the housing access road with Hopkins Homes making a contribution to the cost.
In response to comments from Councillor Parish on the responses received from the consultation exercise and potential questions from the public on the provision of facilities specifically the health centre, the Housing Strategy Manager explained that there was ongoing dialogue with the health authority and that the facility was secured and that consultation would be undertaken with a wider stakeholder group to determine what health services would be available within the health centre.
In response to questions from Councillor Blunt as to what would happen post the master plan consultation, the Housing Strategy Manager explained that once the master plan had gone through the required statutory processes it would become a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and adopted by Norfolk County Council and the Borough Council it would sit alongside the Section106 Agreement and would give significant weight when planning applications came. It was noted that the IDP was published on the Borough Council’s website.
Councillor Middleton highlighted the positive engagement with the stakeholder group which had been in operation for over a year which demonstrated how the Borough Council and NCC worked together to engage with the community in order to move forward.
Councillor Blunt commented that this was a good example of a consultation plan which had been agreed with the Stakeholder Group and it was hopeful that the same process would be undertaken with the housing access road.
Councillor Kemp asked why she could still not see the level of detail with regard to the public facilities and that the master plan was too vague to see where those facilities would be located and in her view there was not sufficient work done for the public to consult on.
In response, the Assistant Director from NCC explained that it was about working together to deliver the required infrastructure as soon as possible and the aim therefore was to deliver the housing access road as soon as possible to predate the majority of housing. It was the number of houses would take time to be delivered and there was a safeguard in place of only allowing Hopkins Homes to deliver no more than 300 homes prior to the housing access road being in place to limit the number of traffic movements to the existing A10.
In response to questions in relation to the walking and cycling routes and public transport, the Assistant Director from NCC explained that work would be undertaken to produce a Sustainable Transport Strategy which would addresses these issues as part of the housing access road project. It was highlighted that the Department of Transport was keen to ensure there was a clear proposal as part of business case development and hop this would allay the concerns explained with connectively within the community and the town.
The Housing Strategy Manager reiterated that the IDP adopted in 2018 was available to view on the Borough Council’s Website and that the framework masterplan would be published on a dedicated area of the council’s website following Cabinet approval in early August 2022. However, the framework master plan had been presented to the Local Development Framework and Policy Development Panel week commencing 25 July and could be viewed under the Agendas for those meetings.
The Assistant Director, NCC advised that more detail on the consultation for the housing access road would be brought forward later in 2022 and highlighted the importance of working with the Stakeholder Group to develop the details required for that consultation.
The Assistant Director, Property and Projects expressed concern on the line of questioning and reminded those present that MMPB was not policy development panel and reminded Members that the role of the MMPB was to programme manage and monitoring progress of major projects.
Councillor Middleton added that the Board needed to remember why the MMPB was set up to enable Councillors and the OMPB to monitor major projects and to challenge the delivery of those projects.
Councillor Morley commented that Councillor Kemp had made relevant points for existing residents and future generations living in the area.
The Chief Executive advised Councillor Kemp that the information she had requested was in the public domain and was published on the Council’s website, Cabinet Agenda 2 August page 17 of Appendix A to Agenda Item 12 West Winch Framework Masterplan for Consultation and that there was also a map setting out areas for the proposed school, retail and green space, etc.
In conclusion, the Assistant Director, NCC added that the county council was working closely with the Borough Council on delivery of the growth area and housing access road and would be happy to update the MMPB as the project moved forward.
The Chair thanked officers for their input into the meeting.