A major development of 4,000 new homes and two new primary schools which will almost double the size of a Norfolk market town is being recommended for approval.
The outline plans for Attleborough include two new two-form entry primary schools, funded by the developer, which would create a combined total of 1,050 additional school places.
The new site would also include two neighbourhood centres, sports pitches, shops, a petrol filling station and other places of work.
One of the key proposals in the application is the construction of a new £18m link road between the A11 London Road and the New Buckenham Road to the south of the town, which Attleborough Town Council said was crucial to avoid potential congestion.
The applicants said they planned to have the road completed by the second phase of its six stage delivery plan, by which point around 1,200 of the total homes would be built.
Both primary schools have also been earmarked to coincide with the completion of this second phase.
Concerns have been raised by Anglian Water that development would lead to an 'unacceptable risk of flooding downstream' and that Attleborough Water Recycling Centre would struggle to cope with the additional sewage.
An impact study estimated the 4,000 new homes would mean an extra 9,200 residents for the town, almost doubling the population of 10,500 people recorded in the most recent census in 2011.
The study also said the two proposed primary schools would create about 120 jobs and an extension of its secondary school would create 60 jobs.
It added that the region's primary care trust advised Breckland Council a new doctors' surgery would be needed, echoing concerns submitted by Attleborough residents during the initial public consultation.
Historic England objected to the application because it feared 'harm of a high magnitude' would be caused to an earthwork at Bunn's Bank, which is believed to be of Saxon origin.
Old Buckenham Parish Council said the development threatened the gap between the village and Attleborough, and that 93pc of respondents to a 2016 survey objected to this.
The proposed development will cover a 217-hectare site to the south of Attleborough, extending from Whitehouse Lane to the north-east to London Road to the south-west.
The land is currently farmland and a disused waste water treatment works buildings belonging to Poplar Farm would be demolished during construction.
The application has been made by Attleborough Land Ltd, which is part Ptarmigan Land Ltd - the project's promoter - on behalf of the land owners.
The outline planning application will be discussed and determined by Breckland District Council's planning committee at a public meeting on Friday, March 15.
Attleborough's growth
Two centuries ago the town of Attleborough was home to no more than 1,400 people, growing more than seven-fold since then.
With 4,000 more homes, it is expected the town will gain at least another 8,000 residents, swelling to around 18,000 or 19,000.
Following the London overspill which saw thousands of Londoners move to towns such as Thetford and Kings Lynn, Attleborough built its own estates.
The council-owned Cyprus Estate was followed by Fairfields and Ollands, both privately built in the 1970s, with a further, large estate built to the south of the town in the 1990s.
An influx of new people and the commuter lifestyle, with residents driving to Norwich down the A11 increased traffic to unbearable levels, leading to the construction of the A11 bypass in 1985.
Further growth is likely to come, a development of 165 homes on the former Grampian Country Foods site was approved in February with another development of 327 homes nodded through in January of this year.
More to follow.
What do you think of the plans? Email Bethany.Wales@archant.co.uk or comment below.
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