Plans for 74 homes in Bradwell deferred after heated debate

The application for the site off Meadowland Drive in Bradwell has been fraught with problems over the last 18 months, which included the collapse of the Lowestoft-based construction company behind the scheme.

It has also become a controversial issue in the village and more than 100 people have objected to it.

The landowner has since decided to progress with the application but officers at Great Yarmouth Borough Council recommended it was rejected due to it falling short of 14 homes they say should be built in order to best make use of the land available.

The land near Meadowland Drive where a developer wants to build 75 houses. (Image: Google Maps)

This led to a clash of opinions, with local councillor Karl Annison arguing the village is already becoming overcrowded which is causing traffic problems in the area.

"This is the best-case scenario. It should be approved or deferred as it could be catastrophic for the residents in Bradwell if it is refused and more homes are built."

Mark Duffield of Aldreds estate agents, who was clearly frustrated by how the application had been treated by officers, argued the extra public open space was to protect against flooding as the land on the eastern side is known to become waterlogged.

"The developer has already spent £150,000 on fees. Great Yarmouth needs good quality family homes and I urge you to approve this," he told councillors.

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The proposed layout of the development in Bradwell (Image: GYBC)

The disparate views led a number of councillors to call for the decision on the application to be deferred to allow further negotiations to take place.

Officers urged for a decision to be made, arguing there were several failings that warranted refusal and that more negotiations would not be able to overcome the substantial issues they identified, which also included inadequate quality of design and highway issues.

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In total, officers identified 10 different reasons for refusal.

However, councillors still decided to defer their decision to allow the developer further time to make changes to the application. 

Angela Rayner, housing minister and deputy prime minister, during a visit to a housing development in Hampshire (Image: PA)

PUSH FOR MORE HOMES

The application comes at a difficult time for council planning departments following the announcement this week by deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

She has told council chiefs that they have a "moral obligation to see more homes built" and has called for them to set out plans for 1.5 million new homes by 2029, in a move she has described as a "radical".

It is hoped this will help tackle the nation's housing crisis, which is pushing rents sky-high and pushing families into homelessness.

This demand was highlighted by planning officers at the Great Yarmouth Borough Council development committee meeting, who urged councillors to consider these new regulations when making a decision on the application.

Councils have been told they have a moral duty to build more homes (Image: Chris Bishop)

They said that approving only 74 homes in this location, described as a sustainable site, would mean there would be more pressure to build housing at less appropriate locations.

However, this is at odds with the view of locals, who worry that the infrastructure in the village will not be able to cope with the added pressures.

It is likely this scenario will continue to be played out in the coming months as councils struggle to satisfy the government's push for more housing.

While the people living nearby new developments will continue to push back against what they see as the overdevelopment of villages and towns.

The new proposals set out by the government include a £450m pot to acquire and build homes for families at risk of homelessness and for green belt boundaries to be remapped to create 'grey belt' areas - poor quality greenfield land that should be developed.