Village Clusters Housing Allocations Plan - Alternative Sites & Focused Changes (Reg. 18)
Evidence Base
A.18. Much of the evidence base to the Village Clusters Plan is shared with the GNLP. However, specific supporting evidence base documents have been prepared to accompany this plan, these are listed below:
- Sustainability Appraisal (SA);
- Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA);
- Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA);
- Landscape and Visual Appraisals (LVA);
- Stage 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRA);
- South Norfolk Village Clusters Water Cycle Study (WCS) and
- South Norfolk Village Clusters Viability Appraisal (VA).
Where appropriate the latest versions of these documents can be found in the Supporting Documents for this consultation. Previous versions of the documents can be found under the archived papers for the January 2023 Regulation 19 at https://southnorfolkandbroadland.oc2.uk/document/13. See details under each document below.
Sustainability Appraisal (SA)
A.19. The scope of the Sustainability Appraisal was established with the specified bodies in accordance with legal requirements in autumn 2020. SA commentaries have been used consistently as part of the decision making process throughout the preparation of the Plan.
A.20. An update to the SA has been produced for this Focused Regulation 18 consultation and is available for comment as part of the Supporting Documents.
Habitats Regulation Assessment (HRA)
A.21. The Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) has been prepared to identify European sites within or near the Village Cluster area that may be directly, or indirectly, affected by the allocations within this Plan and concludes on whether there are any significant effects likely as a result of the Plan proposals.
A.22. All bar one of the sites in this Focussed Regulation 18 consultation (SN6000 at Barford) were already preferred or shortlisted at previous stages; as such they were considered in earlier versions of the HRA. The HRA prepared to accompany the 2021 Regulation 18 document (available at https://southnorfolkandbroadland.oc2.uk/document/2) 'screened in' all of the preferred and shortlisted sites for further consideration, as such it is assumed that this would be the case for the new/amended sites in this consultation. The HRA accompanying the Regulation 19 consultation (available at: https://southnorfolkandbroadland.oc2.uk/document/13) did not identify any significant impacts at a site-specific level, but did identify cumulative impacts, for which suitable mitigation could be implemented. It is therefore reasonable to assume this will also be the case for new/amended sites in this consultation. As such, an update to the HRA is not considered necessary at this stage, but will be prepared for the next Regulation 19 Pre-Submission publication.
Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA)
A.23. Following advice received from Historic England, Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) have been prepared for selected sites which may impact on heritage assets (Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas, archaeological remains etc.). The HIAs have helped to shape the site selection process and informed the detailed allocation policies for the preferred sites in the January 2023 Regulation 19 document.
A.24. New or updated HIAs have been prepared for 11 of the sites in this focussed consultation and are available to view as Supporting Documents. These will be used to shape policies for those relevant sites that go forward into the final version of the Plan.
Landscape and Visual Appraisals (LVA)
A.25. Following the 2021 Regulation 18 consultation it was determined that the site selection process would benefit from Landscape Visual Appraisals (LVAs) to consider in greater detail the potential landscape and visual impact of developing rural sites, often on the edge of a settlement. LVAs were completed for all of the January 2023 Regulation 19 preferred sites with the findings being used to inform the site-specific policies where appropriate.
A.26. LVAs have now been completed or updated for the 13 sites in this consultation and are available as Supporting Documents. These will be used to inform the site-specific policies for those sites that go forward into the final draft of the Plan.
Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA)
A.27. Stage 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessments (SFRAs) specifically focusing on sites within the South Norfolk Village Clusters area were undertaken to both inform the choice of sites and help develop the policies in the January 2023 Regulation 19 document. The SFRA was updated following legislative changes made in Autumn 2022 and this work is ongoing to inform the selection of sites in this document and the site-specific policy wording for those sites that go forward into the final draft of the Plan. The latest SFRA documents can be found as part of the Supporting Documents.
Water Cycle Study (WCS)
A.28. The South Norfolk Water Cycle Study (WCS) builds upon the WCS produced to support the production of the GNLP. The South Norfolk addendum provides specific information relating to the sites within the Village Cluster Plan area, taking into account existing commitments and development outside the Plan area that connects to Water Recycling Centres (WRC) within the Village Cluster Plan area. This work will be updated as part of the final choice of sites following this Focussed Regulation 18 consultation.
Viability Appraisal (VA)
A.29. An updated Viability Appraisal (VA) was prepared to support the January 2023 Regulation 19 Village Clusters Plan. This included looking at the potential impact of addressing Nutrient Neutrality. The purpose of the South Norfolk VA was firstly to confirm that the small-scale sites in the South Norfolk Village Clusters locations remain viable taking into account the latest data, including increased building costs, and secondly to identify whether the development typologies identified would generate sufficient surplus, over and above a normal developer profit, to cover any increased costs associated with Nutrient Neutrality. This document is available in the Supporting Documents for the Regulation 19 consultation at: https://southnorfolkandbroadland.oc2.uk/document/13.