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Controversial village housing plan put on hold

Paul MoseleyNorfolk political reporter
News imageLiz Lake Associates An illustration that is in the style of a hand-drawn sketch, shows multiple white properties surrounded by greenery.Liz Lake Associates
An artist's impression has illustrated how the estate might look

Controversial plans to build hundreds of homes in a seaside village have been put on hold, a council has said.

Earlier this year, proposals for 446 homes and a 70-bed care home at Hopton-on-Sea in Norfolk were approved in the face of opposition from dozens of people, a parish council and MP.

Despite concerns about the impact on local services and traffic, Repton Property Developments – which is owned by Norfolk County Council – said the homes were "much needed".

But the council's Reform UK leader, David Bick, said the authority was looking at the viability of the firm's projects and the plans were now being paused.

News imagePaul Moseley/BBC A man wearing a pink suit jacket and white open-necked shirt is seated at a council or committee meeting speaking into a microphone. He is surrounded by documents, nameplates and other attendees. A glass of water, notepad and bottled water sit on the desk in the formal chamber setting.Paul Moseley/BBC
Reform's David Bick said housing trends in the UK were "dire"

Repton's plan is to build a mixture of one to four-bedroom houses and bungalows, along with care accommodation on 61 acres (25 hectares) of farmland south of Links Road in Gorleston.

Hopton Parish Council said it was concerned roads could not cope with "something like 1,000 [extra] vehicle movements, multiple times a day".

Great Yarmouth's Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe warned the plans would cause "infrastructure" strain, putting pressure on health and education services.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council's development committee approved the development in May, but it has continued to face opposition.

That appeared to cause a schism at the county council.

While it is run by Reform, the party does not have a majority, and has relied on support from Great Yarmouth First (GYF) – which is part of Restore Britain.

GYF firmly opposed the development and said it would fund a legal challenge against it.

News imagePaul Moseley/BBC Close-up portrait of a man in a grey blazer and white shirt standing on a seafront promenade, with blurred buildings and coastline in the background under a clear blue sky.Paul Moseley/BBC
Great Yarmouth First's Jon Wedon said he was "very pleased" by the decision to pause the plans

But at a county council meeting on Tuesday, Bick said housing trends in the UK were "dire" and the authority had commissioned "a fresh, new, independent assessment of viability of the schemes being pursued" by Repton.

In response to a question from GYF's group leader Jon Wedon, he said that meant the Hopton scheme, and another in Attleborough, had been put on pause.

Wedon welcomed the decision and said "residents have been raising their concerns about this site for years".

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