More than 1,000 homes for village granted permission

Plans for 1,100 new homes which would see a village population increase by up to 70% have been approved.

The development for West Winch near King's Lynn has been under discussion for more than a decade, and is part of a plan for 4,000 homes in the wider area.

The village currently has a population of 3,000 and 140 villagers lodged objections with King's Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council over fears the homes would put pressures schools, hospitals and doctor surgeries.

Despite this, councillors approved the scheme, with one vote against and one abstention.

The Hopkins Homes application has been controversial since the farmland was first earmarked for 4,000 houses in 2011.

The area's Internal Drainage Board had objected to the plans over concerns about the capacity of drains and flood risk.

Sport England also opposed the plan, saying a project of this size should have included a sports hall and swimming pool funded by the developer.

The scheme included plans for a primary school, local centre, open spaces and new access roads, but many councillors said these facilities would not be enough.

Simon Nash, district councillor for West Winch, said it would "forever change the dynamic and social structure of the area.

"This is not a game of SimCity – and if it was we would be on course for failure.”

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, if just two people lived in each property, the local population would grow by about 70%.

Concerns were been expressed about the impact on traffic, as the government has yet to commit to the £90m sought by Norfolk County Council for a new road connecting the A47 with the A10.

The county council submitted an outline business case for this road to the government in September 2023 and new roads and a by-pass for West Winch are not tied to the development.

However, some councillors said this was a case of “chicken and egg” and stressed that houses needed to be built in order to procure an investment from the Department for Transport.

Simon Ring, deputy leader of the council, said: "We can’t predict whether the government will pull the plug on this road – but we will fall into a quagmire of problems if we don’t pass this application.

"We face losing the bypass that everyone has wanted since I was a little boy."

The vast majority of the homes would be sold on the open market after Hopkins Homes successfully applied to central government for the number of affordable homes to be reduced from 20% to 10%.

The chairman of the planning committee Terry Parish said he was "appalled" by the decision.

Mr Parish said he worried new homes would not be affordable for most people in the district.

"The site was identified back in 2013 and it's almost impossible for a site to be de-allocated," he said.

Work on the development is expected to begin in late 2026.

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