The Norwich Over the Wensum Forum is working to prepare a neighbourhood plan for this area of Norwich. This newsletter is for households in the area and is to let you know about the progress that has been made.
A neighbourhood plan is:
A document that sets out planning policies for the neighbourhood area, which are used to decide whether to approve planning applications.
Written by the local community, the people who know and love the area.
A powerful tool to help enable development that meets local needs.
Since 2022 there have been newsletters, walkabouts and community events giving people the chance to say what they think should be in the plan.
Some people talked about parks, green spaces, and playgrounds. Many talked about their experiences of living and working in the area, and the importance of the mix of uses. Also, people talked about places they thought needed to be developed, as well as places that need to be preserved as they are.
With assistance from Locality a draft plan has been created to reflect the what the community told us. Analysis of the area, current planning policies and the outcomes from community engagement has enabled the identification of the following key policy aims.
Planning Aims:
- To support high quality and sustainable regeneration, including development of brownfield sites and heritage-led economic development.
- Maintaining a mixed neighbourhood to meet the housing, employment, recreational, educational, shopping and other diverse needs of the local community.
- To promote sustainable and active travel, enabling walking and cycling.
- To promote high quality, sustainable design, reinforcing local distinctiveness and historic character.
- To ensure that development helps to address climate change and responds to the effects of climate change.
- To protect or enhance green spaces.
- To enhance the environment and accessibility of the river Wensum.
These aims have been developed into policies, based on the following themes.
- Regeneration: The policy will support mixed use development to complement the existing mix of uses and promote high street viability and vitality.
- Residential Development: The plan will seek to ensure that new housing provides a good level of amenity and meets diverse local needs.
- Heritage, Character, and Identity: Development will be required to reinforce the area’s character but also avoiding suppressing creative design.
- Sustainable Design: The policy will promote high-quality, green design and require development to be convenient for pedestrians.
- Green and Blue Infrastructure: The policy will seek to ensure that development does not have adverse impacts on the area’s green and recreational spaces, trees, and the river frontage.
- Sustainable and Active Travel: Sustainable forms of transport, walking and cycling will be promoted.
What happens next?
The draft neighbourhood plan is currently undergoing some formal assessments, and we are awaiting the results. When it is ready, the draft neighbourhood plan will be published for people to comment on in a formal consultation process called Regulation 14.
After the plan is edited in response to the feedback from this public consultation, the plan can then be checked and tested to make sure it follows legal rules and national planning policies.
Following this there will be an opportunity for local residents to vote for adoption of the plan. If adopted this plan will have a legal place in the planning processes for our area of Norwich.
Get involved – Find out more
Norwich Over the Wensum Neighbourhood Forum would like to hear from anyone who lives or works in the neighbourhood area who wants to get involved or would like to find out more about this community project.
There is lots of information on the website and we are happy to answer any questions you might have.
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