Heathlands Community Centre by Norwich set for more parking

Heathlands Community Centre and Social Club in Blofield Heath will get more than double its current number of parking spaces after an application to Broadland District Council was approved.

Under the plans the number of parking spaces will increase from 34 to 70 as the car park is extended into the playing field next to it.

Heathlands Community Centre and Social Club in Blofield Heath (Image: Denise Bradley) Paul Newstead, Conservative district councillor for the Blofield and South Walsham ward, said that the Heathlands team is now working to secure a grant.

The building work can then get under way as soon as Broadland District Council has approved the funding.

Plans first emerged to extend the car park after concerns were raised about the "dangerous" parking along Woodbastwick Road.

The car park is going to more than double in size (Image: Denise Bradley) As the community centre and social club grew in popularity, people started parking their cars along the side of the road.

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When the plans first emerged, Cllr Newstead said: "Heathlands Social Club has been very popular and there isn't much else in the area like it.

"Lots of people have been travelling to the site to play sports on the games pitches.

"Other than the car park, however, the only place to park is along the side of the road, which can be pretty busy and parking here can be dangerous."

Cars were pictured parking along the road (Image: Broadland District Council) As well as a community hub and sports ground, the current car park is used as a preferred drop-off and pick-up point for parents of children at Hemblington Primary School, which is just around the corner.

The original car park was extended in 2011 to increase the parking from eight to 34 spaces, but the planning application says that this is no longer enough to cope with the large volume of traffic using the site.