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Out-Law News 2 min. read

Norfolk council resolves to approve 3,500-home urban extension for a second time


A Norfolk local authority has resolved to approve plans for a 3,500-home urban extension for a second time, after reconsidering the proposal in light of "notable changes to local planning policies".

A planning expert said the local authority's actions served as a reminder of the importance of the timely conclusion of section 106 planning agreements.

Developers Beyond Green and Development Securities applied to Broadland District Council in 2012 for outline permission to build an urban extension on 207 acres of land to the north of the town of Sprowston and the village of Old Catton. The plans included up to 3,520 homes, up to 16,800 square metres of commercial space, up to 8,800 sq m of retail space, two primary schools, a hotel and landscaped public space.

The Council's planning committee had resolved to grant outline permission for the proposal in September 2013, subject to an acceptable section 106 planning agreement. However, the committee met again this month to reconsider the plans following changes to national and local planning policy and guidance, after a delay in getting the planning agreement approved by all interested parties.

According to a report produced for the meeting (267-page / 5.2 MB PDF), part of the Council's core strategy had been reviewed and re-adopted in January 2014. The amended core strategy included policies identifying the area within which the urban extension was proposed as "a location for major new communities" which should be "served by a new district centre". The report said policies supporting well-being and quality of life and requiring the protection and provision of cultural assets and leisure facilities had been in place at the time of the initial decision, but had not been referred to in the committee's September 2013 report.

The 2015 report also noted that "two other key documents have gathered increased weight since the committee meeting of 25 September 2013". It said a Development Management Development Plan Document was in the course of being examined and an Area Action Plan (AAP) for the growth area surrounding the application site had been submitted for examination.

According to the report the adopted and emerging changes to local policy "do not make the development less acceptable from a planning policy point of view". The allocation of the application site for residential development in the AAP "strengthen[ed] the recommendation to approve this development", the report said.

The Council's planning officers considered that the application was "still acceptable from a planning point of view", the report said. Recommending the approval of the proposal subject to the satisfactory conclusion of the section 106 agreement, the report concluded that "this development represents an excellent opportunity to meet a considerable amount of the housing need in a well planned, considered and sustainable way".

"This story serves as a reminder for how important changes in planning policy can be," said planning expert Jamie Lockerbie of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. "If national or local planning policy changes between resolution and grant, a positive planning decision may need to be re-determined, resulting in considerable uncertainty for the applicant. The lesson is to get the associated section 106 agreement completed as quickly as possible following resolution to grant."

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