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SITE ALLOCATIONS
In order to provide greater certainty for villagers, landowners, developers, planners and other parties interested in the development of Saham Toney, it is intended to allocate residential sites in the Plan. This process started with a call for sites, which ran from 17th August till 18th October 2018. Subsequently independent assessment of the sites put forward ran from November 2018 till April 2019 |
A total of 16 sites were proposed and assessed. You can find a map of their locations if you scroll down this page
IF YOU MISSED OUR VILLAGE PRESENTATION ABOUT SITE ALLOCATIONS ON 7th DECEMBER 2018 YOU CAN FIND BELOW THE INFORMATION WE GAVE ABOUT THE INITIALLY PROPOSED NUMBER OF HOUSES FOR EACH SITE AND THEIR TYPE; AND YOU CAN READ THE QUESTIONS VILLAGERS ASKED ABOUT SITE ALLOCATIONS AND OUR ANSWERS HERE.
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As each step in the process is completed, we'll add the information to this site, so please check regularly to stay up to date
The information will include the following, and when each item becomes available, that will be indicated on this list |
THE RESULTS OF THE 4 INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS;
DETAILS OF THE SITE SELECTION PROCESS: see HERE
CALCULATION OF THE VILLAGE’S HOUSING ALLOCATION: see HERE
THE REVIEW OF SITE CONSTRAINTS IDENTIFIED BY THE ASSESSMENTS AND POSSIBLE MITIGATIONS;
THE SITES SHORTLISTED FOR THE SITE SELECTION PROCESS;
AN EXPLANATION OF HOW SITE RANKING CRITERIA WERE CHOSEN: see HERE
“SLIDING SCALE” DESCRIPTIONS FOR SCORING EACH SITE AGAINST THE RANKING CRITERIA;
JUSTIFICATION FOR THE WEIGHTING OF SITE SELECTION CRITERIA;
EXPLANATION OF WHY EACH SITE WAS SCORED AS IT WAS;
THE PROVISIONAL RANKING AND SELECTION OF SITES;
DETAILS OF CHECKS FOR ANY CUMULATIVE EFFECTS;
THE FINAL LIST OF SITES TO BE ALLOCATED;
DRAFT POLICIES FOR EACH ALLOCATED OR RESERVE SITE;
THE FULL SITE SELECTION REPORT
UPDATE 16 APRIL 2019
The posters below were displayed at the Parish Annual Meeting and explain the status of the site allocation process and what follows next
The posters below were displayed at the Parish Annual Meeting and explain the status of the site allocation process and what follows next
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MAP OF SITES PROPOSED
THIS IS THE SAME MAP BUT IT'S A VERSION FOR ONLINE VIEWING THAT YOU CAN SCROLL AND ZOOM
The table in the file below shows you how many houses have initially been suggested by the landowners for each site and when they hope to develop their land. Please remember these are just initial proposals and must pass rigorous independent assessment before being allocated in the Plan, and that we will continue a process of collaboration with the owners to refine ideas to arrive at solutions that are best for all parties
| number_of_houses_and_timescales_proposed.pdf |
THE NEXT STEPS IN THE PROCESS
We have already had initial on-site meetings with all of those who have proposed sites, and confirmed that all are willing to develop their ideas in collaboration with us so that final plans meet both their aims and those of the Neighbourhood Plan.
Assessment of each site will be carried out independently by a company called AECOM, who started that process in November 2018 and will complete it around the end of March 2019.
AECOM have a set of standard assessment criteria, but are going to also include a few of our specific local criteria.
The AECOM assessor will make an unaccompanied visit to each site as part of the assessment process.
At the end of their assessments AECOM will define each site in one of three ways:
Another factor in deciding site suitability will be the specialist reviews we hope Norfolk County Council will provide for us looking at things such as site access to and from the highway and any highway improvements needed; and any special measures required to alleviate flood risk.
Meanwhile we will continue ad-hoc discussions with the landowners as to how their sites could be developed in a way that meets their needs and those of the village. From our side we will be looking for ways that development can provide benefit to the community. The site owners we have talked to so far are aware of that and all seem willing to work collaboratively with us. What form the benefit might take is still to be discussed and agreed (and villager ideas are very welcome in this respect!); but it could certainly include such things as as meeting village-specific housing needs, providing some form of village amenity (particularly in the case of larger sites), respecting the village design guide that our landscape consultant is currently working on, and phasing of development so as not to overwhelm village infrastructure etc.
Looking further ahead, at some point we will know how many sites are potentially suitable for development. Depending on the number of sites deemed suitable and how many houses have been proposed for those sites we will then have some choices to make:
b) Allocate some as "preferred sites" and include the remainder in the Plan only as "reserved sites". In this case development of preferred allocated sites would be supported by the Plan, whereas development of reserved sites would only be supported if one or more preferred sites were first withdrawn by the owner(s).
If and when we are faced with this choice we will need to decide on what basis we select preferred sites, but although now is not the time to speculate on that, it is highly likely that one criteria will be the level of community benefit each site offers and the extent to which landowners are willing to collaborate with us to meet village needs as well as their own.
While it is too early to discuss potential numbers that will be allocated in the Plan, it is important to point out that until the site assessments are complete and discussions with landowners have progressed further, WE DO NOT RULE OUT ALLOCATING MORE HOUSES THAN ARE CURRENTLY SPECIFIED IN THE PLAN. But as always such a decision will be based on what's best for the village and in consultation with all parties.
In due course every allocated site will have its own policy in the Plan. Our initial thoughts are that each allocation policy will include:
When we have updated the Plan we will repeat the 6 week Regulation 14 consultation, thereby giving all parties a chance to comment on the proposed site allocations (as well as all other revisions to the Plan), before they are finalised.
Perhaps the most critical factor in getting to that point will be agreeing the phasing of the various developments proposed, because clearly what might be acceptable over a 17 year period might not be over a shorter period. So we will continue to keep in mind the Government slogan we have adopted..."the right houses in the right places" with our own addition of "...at the right time".
We have already had initial on-site meetings with all of those who have proposed sites, and confirmed that all are willing to develop their ideas in collaboration with us so that final plans meet both their aims and those of the Neighbourhood Plan.
Assessment of each site will be carried out independently by a company called AECOM, who started that process in November 2018 and will complete it around the end of March 2019.
AECOM have a set of standard assessment criteria, but are going to also include a few of our specific local criteria.
The AECOM assessor will make an unaccompanied visit to each site as part of the assessment process.
At the end of their assessments AECOM will define each site in one of three ways:
- Suitable for development;
- Suitable for development with conditions; or
- Not suitable for development
Another factor in deciding site suitability will be the specialist reviews we hope Norfolk County Council will provide for us looking at things such as site access to and from the highway and any highway improvements needed; and any special measures required to alleviate flood risk.
Meanwhile we will continue ad-hoc discussions with the landowners as to how their sites could be developed in a way that meets their needs and those of the village. From our side we will be looking for ways that development can provide benefit to the community. The site owners we have talked to so far are aware of that and all seem willing to work collaboratively with us. What form the benefit might take is still to be discussed and agreed (and villager ideas are very welcome in this respect!); but it could certainly include such things as as meeting village-specific housing needs, providing some form of village amenity (particularly in the case of larger sites), respecting the village design guide that our landscape consultant is currently working on, and phasing of development so as not to overwhelm village infrastructure etc.
Looking further ahead, at some point we will know how many sites are potentially suitable for development. Depending on the number of sites deemed suitable and how many houses have been proposed for those sites we will then have some choices to make:
- If the number of houses to be provided by suitable sites is less than the number allocated to Saham Toney by Breckland Council, we would allocate each of the suitable sites in the Plan. That number is currently 33, but we are fairly certain it will increase somewhat based on questions the Local Plan Inspector has raised.
- If the number of houses to be provided by suitable sites is more than the Breckland Council allocation but less than the number currently specified in the Neighbourhood Plan (48), we could similarly allocate all those sites in the Plan, on the basis that all parties accepted that number in the earlier Regulation 14 consultation.
- If the number of houses to be provided by suitable sites is more than the number currently specified in the Neighbourhood Plan (48), we will have two further choices:
b) Allocate some as "preferred sites" and include the remainder in the Plan only as "reserved sites". In this case development of preferred allocated sites would be supported by the Plan, whereas development of reserved sites would only be supported if one or more preferred sites were first withdrawn by the owner(s).
If and when we are faced with this choice we will need to decide on what basis we select preferred sites, but although now is not the time to speculate on that, it is highly likely that one criteria will be the level of community benefit each site offers and the extent to which landowners are willing to collaborate with us to meet village needs as well as their own.
While it is too early to discuss potential numbers that will be allocated in the Plan, it is important to point out that until the site assessments are complete and discussions with landowners have progressed further, WE DO NOT RULE OUT ALLOCATING MORE HOUSES THAN ARE CURRENTLY SPECIFIED IN THE PLAN. But as always such a decision will be based on what's best for the village and in consultation with all parties.
In due course every allocated site will have its own policy in the Plan. Our initial thoughts are that each allocation policy will include:
- A site plan with an indicative layout of houses, site roads, and main landscaping, together with any special aspects, such as community amenity features;
- Statement of the maximum number of houses that could be built on the site;
- Statement of the time period over which development will be allowed to happen;
- Statement of the type of houses to be built: e.g. detached / semi-detached; one / two-storey; house / bungalow / flat etc;
- Statement of the size of house to be built: i.e. number of bedrooms;
- Definition of any affordable housing to be provided;
- Any site-specific conditions to be met before development may be approved. These will have been identified by the site assessment process and our discussions and agreements with the landowners;
- Definition of any community amenity features to be provided as part of a development, either on site as a contribution to off-site development.
When we have updated the Plan we will repeat the 6 week Regulation 14 consultation, thereby giving all parties a chance to comment on the proposed site allocations (as well as all other revisions to the Plan), before they are finalised.
Perhaps the most critical factor in getting to that point will be agreeing the phasing of the various developments proposed, because clearly what might be acceptable over a 17 year period might not be over a shorter period. So we will continue to keep in mind the Government slogan we have adopted..."the right houses in the right places" with our own addition of "...at the right time".
CRITERIA FOR AN INDEPENDENT SITE ASSESSMENT (BY AECOM)
On 20 December 2018 AECOM confirmed the criteria it will use to carry out an assessment of each of the 16 sites, and these are given below. As part of their assessments AECOM consultants will visit each site on Wednesday 30 January 2019
On 20 December 2018 AECOM confirmed the criteria it will use to carry out an assessment of each of the 16 sites, and these are given below. As part of their assessments AECOM consultants will visit each site on Wednesday 30 January 2019
| aecom_standard_site_assessment_proforma_at_20dec2018.pdf |