Norfolk council reveals plans for new town of 5,000 homes

A new town consisting of 5,000 homes could be built in the Norfolk countryside.

A submission to Breckland Council suggested land between North Elmham, Billingford and Bintree could be a potential for development.

The settlement has been provisionally named Railway Village, due to its proximity to the Mid Norfolk Railway.

Local campaigners said they had concerns the local road network "could not cope with increased traffic".

Breckland Council is in the process of drawing up its new local plan - a document outlining where development can take place in the district over the coming 20 years, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The council said it had not yet produced a shortlist for potential developments submitted by landowners.

Ideas for the speculative new town include upgrading the rail route, a new school and other new facilities.

A spokesman for the Mid Norfolk Railway, a heritage route, said: "At this stage this is very much a speculative document and there have not been any discussions with the railway."

Michael Rayner, from the Norfolk branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said the proposal for that many homes was "unacceptable".

"The local road network is inadequate to cope with the increased traffic, which would bring unacceptable disruption to local communities," he said.

"The proposed site borders the highly-protected River Wensum, while it partly encircles the precious habitats of Bintree Woods.

"Norfolk's countryside deserves much better than this."

The document submitted to the council stated that there was "known developer interest" in the site, and that once planning permission was granted, construction could start within five years.

It estimated that about 500 homes could be built each year, with about 25% proposed being affordable housing.

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