To receive an update from officers.
Minutes:
The Panel was reminded that they had previously received an update on the South East King’s Lynn Strategic Growth Area and Relief Road, most recently the Panel had considered the Cabinet Report from 13th November 2018 and the Panel had endorsed the Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP).
The LDF Manager explained that the IDP included an understanding of the infrastructure required to deliver housing in the area, including viability assessments. It was noted that because of the eighteen year delivery period some assumptions had to be made.
The IDP had been endorsed by Cabinet and would be used for discussions with land owners and to provide an understanding of the Section 106 agreements. The Panel was informed that the council were taking an active approach to delivery in the growth area and it was acknowledged that there would be a lot of work involved because of the multi ownership of the area.
The LDF Manager explained that it was anticipated that the council would put forward an outline planning permission for the whole of the site which would provide detail for landowners on what could be expected in terms of the type of development and section 106 agreements which were likely to be required.
The Panel was informed that the council had applied for government grant funding, but this had been unsuccessful. However, the Council had been awarded some funding from the Norfolk Business Rates Pool, which would be used to take forward the planning application.
‘Buy in’ from land owners was crucial and officers would work with land owners to promote the benefits of working together to deliver development in the growth area. Officers were in the process of creating a timeline and work streams and work was also ongoing regarding the design of the West Winch Relief Road, working with developers, land owners, Highways England and Norfolk County Council. The design of the road was underway and specialist studies were ongoing. It was anticipated that a design of the road would be available in April.
The Panel was informed that meetings had been arranged with landowners and the local community to ensure that they were kept up to date and involved in the process.
The Chairman thanked officers for their presentation and invited questions and comments from the Panel, as summarised below.
In response to a question from Councillor Crofts it was explained that allocated site F was part of the growth area and no specific progress had been made on this site, other than that it had been included in the IDP. The Panel was also informed that extra capacity in the highways network would be required before some of the development could come forward and development would need to be phased as necessary.
In response to a question from Councillor Mrs Watson, it was clarified that the amount of housing had not been exactly specified, but it was anticipated that up to 4,000 homes could be delivered. It was explained that allocations had been made in the current local plan and further allocations would be made in the emerging local plan which would cover the eighteen year development period.
The Chairman, Councillor Kunes asked about the design of the Relief Road and it was explained that, due to constraints on the site, the alignment of the road would be similar to what had been indicated in the local plan. Work on the design of the road was ongoing and it was hoped that final plans would be available in April, which could then be made available for public consultation.
In response to a question from Councillor Bubb, it was explained that once the road was developed it would be designated accordingly, and it was likely that it would become the A10, but this was a matter for Norfolk County Council.
Councillor Crofts referred to the meeting with local communities and it was confirmed that West Winch and North Runcton would be involved in the process and the Panel was reminded that both Parishes had created a joint neighbourhood plan.
RESOLVED: The update was noted.