South Norfolk Village Clusters Housing Allocations Plan (Reg. 19 Pre-submission Draft)

Earsham Parish Council welcomes a Flood Risk Assessment being undertaken as various areas of the village flood every year and was badly affected in December 2021 in the area of the village where EAR1 is highlighted

Earsham Parish Council accepts that the number of proposed properties has been halved since the first consultation took place, but still feel that 25 properties is too many for the area. It is appreciated that concerns regarding the entrance to any proposed build has been taken into account, but the concern is still there given the number of extra vehicles that potentially could come with 25 properties, it could be anything between 40 and 75. Speeding is an issue in the village, despite the Parish Council having purchased two SAM2 machines and more recently have installed a speed reduction sign outside the school. The Police have installed a black box just last week to look at the increased speeding issues, and it is felt that more vehicles that come with more housing are just going to add to the problem especially in the School Road area.
Safety for the primary school children, as well as pedestrians, is of paramount importance as it gets so busy at school drop off and pick up times, also the village has seen a big increase in vehicles visiting The Old Mill with its numerous businesses on site (which is great for local economy) but the only way to get to The Old Mill is via Church Road or School Road, these two roads converge not too far from the proposed site EAR1. A recent housing development on School Road (Granary Close) has also added to the vehicle numbers in recent years. Earsham Parish Council would like further consideration to be given to reduce the number of proposed housing even further for site EAR1 if is is not to be discounted altogether please.

Earsham Parish Council do not have any reason to doubt the validity of the soundness or legality of the Plan, however Parish Councillors still feel the problems with EAR1 for any density of building will exist because of its proximity, nearby school and local businesses located at The Old Mill