Site Allocations

SAHAM TONEY NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN 2018-2036

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

A total of 15 sites have been proposed. You can find a map of their locations below

In the immediate short term we do not intend to publish other information about the sites put forward. This is not for reasons of secrecy or subterfuge, but because we are concerned that partial and preliminary information could be taken out of context and so do not consider it is the right time yet to start a public debate on the pro's and con's of each site, because such debate at this early stage is likely to disrupt the process. Rest assured the Work Group has matters under control and will continue to work towards solutions that are in the mutual best interests of the village and the landowners who have put forward their sites.
Below you will find some notes explaining how we plan to do this.
We will not be publishing the personal details of those who have proposed sites. But what we can say is that none of the sites put forward have been submitted by development companies, and following initial discussions we are confident we can work with the landowners to achieve a successful result.
DO PLEASE COME ALONG TO OUR VILLAGE PRESENTATION - AT 7 pm ON 7th DECEMBER 2018 AT THE WCCC - TO FIND OUT MORE AND GIVE US YOUR INITIAL THOUGHTS ON THE SITES PROPOSED. BY THAT TIME WE EXPECT TO BE IN A POSITION TO SHARE WITH YOU THE NUMBERS OF HOUSES PROPOSED

MAP OF SITES PROPOSED

THIS IS THE SAME MAP BUT IT'S A VERSION FOR ONLINE VIEWING THAT YOU CAN SCROLL AND ZOOM

THE NEXT STEPS IN THE PROCESS
We have already had initial on-site meetings with nearly all of those who have proposed sites, and expect to complete that process in the near future.
Assessment of each site will be carried out independently by a company called AECOM.
On 19th October 2018, as required at the end of a call for sites, we informed AECOM of the numbers of sites put forward, with a note of how many of those have been previously assessed by Breckland during development of the Local Plan (9).
On 24th October AECOM will recommend to a committee of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government that they undertake the assessments on our behalf. The Ministry's formal approval is required before the assessments can begin as the Government funds AECOM's work in this respect. Approval is expected to be given in 1-2 weeks.
Within a week of us being notified of formal approval, a technical consultant from AECOM will contact us to initiate the site assessment process. To date we have only been able to talk with AECOM's administrators, so that will give us chance to ask questions in order to understand more detail about the assessment process.
AECOM have a set of standard assessment criteria, but are willing to consider adding specific local criteria. Below you can find a file of the draft criteria we intend to discuss with them.
As soon as they request it we will send AECOM the information we received about each site. In each case that comprises a completed proposal form, a site location map and some site photos.
Before knowing how many sites were involved, AECOM told us that assessments normally take up to 3 months. We hope to get an update on that once they have had chance for an initial look at the information we send them.
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

Separately we have asked Lucy Batchelor-Wylam, our landscape consultant, to assess each site in the light of the village character and landscape sensitivity assessment she is currently preparing for us. The intention is not for her to duplicate AECOM's work, but instead to tell us how developments could be set out and designed to best mitigate any impacts on the landscape.
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 hope to 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 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:

a) Allocate them all; or
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, 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".

DRAFT SITE ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
(Still to be confirmed with AECOM)

saham_toney_site_assessment_criteria_draft_17aug2018.pdf
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