At a meeting last week (16 October), Breckland Council\u2019s planning committee refused the north London practice\u2019s outline application to transform The Abbey neighbourhood in Thetford, citing local opposition.<\/p>\n
Levitt Bernstein\u2019s proposal, submitted last spring, involved the \u2018comprehensive redevelopment\u2019 of the housing estate located between the Little Ouse River and rail tracks linking Cambridge and Norwich.<\/p>\n
More than half of the 1,087 existing homes on the site could have been demolished, along with up to 726 garages, under the plans for housing developer Bromford Flagship.<\/p>\n
The refreshed estate would have eventually had almost 1,600 residential units along with up to 1,600m\u00b2\u00a0 of new flexible floorspace to be used as retail, office or community facilities. A new park and further public realm improvements were also mooted.<\/p>\n
Planning officers had recommended the scheme be approved, but noted \u2018significant local opposition\u2019 to the scheme and warned of \u2018potential social unrest during the process\u2019.<\/p>\n
The council received more than 190 objections along with a petition against the proposals signed by more than 1,100 people.<\/p>\n
It also received an objection from Thetford Town Council, which objected on grounds including \u2018loss of community and amenity\u2019, saying displacement of residents \u2018risks homelessness and loss of support networks\u2019.<\/p>\n
It also branded the plans \u2018overdevelopment\u2019 and said they were \u2018unlikely to address local housing need\u2019.<\/p>\n
But Breckland planning officers said that there were \u2018significant\u2019 social benefits to the proposals, including \u2018providing much needed dwellings to boost the council\u2019s shortfall in housing supply\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u2018A range of tenures and housing types would be provided, with the illustrative plans depicting a well-connected, permeable, pedestrian and community-friendly estate,\u2019 their report to councillors said.<\/p>\n
\u2018The existing Abbey suffers from issues with anti-social behaviour due to the absence of properly overlooked streets, and poorly purposed green space. One of the key benefits of a redesigned estate would be an emphasis on passive surveillance and opportunities to build a stronger community through inclusive and active design.\u2019<\/p>\n
The officers said there were no adverse impacts that would \u2018significantly and demonstrably\u2019 outweigh the benefits of the proposals.<\/p>\n
Despite the officers recommending the scheme, after a lengthy debate, councillors voted by a majority to refuse the application. They concluded that the \u2018material planning consideration\u2019 of uncertainty related to possible compulsory purchases of homes, and the stress resulting from this uncertainty, outweighed compliance with the development plan.<\/p>\n
There were audible claps and cheers in the venue when the decision was announced.<\/p>\n
Bromford Flagship chief operating officer Dave\u00a0Armstrong said he was \u2018disappointed\u2019 with the committee decision but had \u2018full respect\u2019 for it.<\/p>\n
\u2018We\u2019ve spent the past five years working with local people and listening to their hopes for The Abbey,\u2019 he added. \u2018We\u2019ve heard that change is needed, and we remain committed to working with the council and the community to make that happen.<\/p>\n
\u2018The Abbey matters to us because the people who live there matter. Our aim remains the same: to improve homes, green spaces and community facilities in a way that reflects what people want. We\u2019ll take time now to understand the reasons behind the decision, listen to what\u2019s been said and explore how we move forward together.\u2019<\/p>\n
Levitt Bernstein director Simon Lea said: \u2018Since 2019, we have worked closely with the residents of The Abbey in Thetford to develop a regeneration plan shaped by their wishes and aspirations.<\/p>\n
\u2018Our regeneration proposal focused on improving existing homes to be more energy efficient and providing new high-quality, sustainable homes for Thetford residents, along with a new community hub and shops, safer walking and cycling routes, better parking and lighting, and improved amenity and play spaces.<\/p>\n
\u2018While the council has not supported the current proposals, despite a recommendation for approval, we hope we can continue to support Bromford Flagship and the local community to help shape the future of The Abbey.\u2019<\/p>\n
Current site view<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At a meeting last week (16 October), Breckland Council\u2019s planning committee refused the north London practice\u2019s outline application…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216922,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-216921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}