Closing date for Objections: October 31st 2002

This proposal from developer Ron Beattie, of Back Lane, Chedgrave, trading as "Roy Williamson Properties" was perceived as a real and unacceptable threat to the tiny hamlet of Seething - from many points of view. This page sets out briefly what was submitted to South Norfolk District Council and what the local objections to this proposed painful blot on our rural landscape are.

These short terraces of houses would have 3 bedrooms in the outer buildings and two each in the two central buildings.

These proposed houses are said to be in a vernacular style - though which one is not clear - certainly this is not a style to be found in any buildings of any age in this area.

The large green field at the rear has been left with a spacious roadway - thus opening up the possibility of further estate-like building additions at some point in the future.

• The site is outside the current development area as defined by South Norfolk Council area plan, further than the 75 meters indicated on the "Design Statement" as the accepted village 'development area'. There is no point in producing such documents at considerable cost if they are not adhered to.
• Roy Williamson Properties have not approached the Village Hall Committee or the Parish Council as owners of the land to which the developer proposes access - nor could this be permitted.
• This density of housing is extremely high - more akin to a town development than any rural one with there is no precedent in Seething or the surrounding area for a development of this nature. Historically, new development in this village has been very gentle, the last five years seeing more new build and barn conversions than ever before, a factor that some residents feel has been detrimental to the local community, visual amenities and historic development. This proposed development would increase the population in Seething by over 10% in one fell swoop - the developer has indicated that he envisages further considerable housing expansion on this site.
• The historically slow rate of development in the parish is shown in this table.

Seething housing statistics for the 25 year period 1977 - 2002 are:-

New build

20

Barn Conversions

9

Extensions and refurbishment

34

Planning permissions outstanding and/or not utilised

5 (or 6)

• Adding a dozen or more houses as a block would be historically intrusive and being a proposed village edge development could lead to undesirable social exclusion and behavioral problems (such as has already been identified in some other Norfolk villages with similar development).

• Wheelers Lane is exceedingly narrow being between 3 - 3.5 M wide on average and winding in its entirety and often termed "a single-track lane", two cars being unable to pass without one or both vehicles placing two wheels on the verge. For much of its length it has steep banks or deep ditches within less than one meter of the hard surface further complicating the satisfactory passage of traffic resulting in locals with appropriate vehicles being called upon to pull the vehicles of the unwary from these ditches. The current use of the lane from the west as part of the unofficial "school run one way system" twice a day with children requires taking into account. There has been a very considerably increased use of the lane from the west during the past five years by all forms of traffic. This includes HGVs seeking the industrial area, the use of the lane in both directions by school coaches on a daily basis, plus the library van and assorted ever larger farm machinery and agricultural lorries, so any increase in traffic would render an already inadequate and difficult situation impossible. Also to be born firmly in mind is the inadequate parking situation at the village hall at the eastern end of the lane resulting in the total blockage of the road for periods up to two hours. This regular on-street parking occurs whenever events are staged due to a lack of parking spaces.

• ANY increase in vehicular movements along this narrow lane should be positively discouraged, as it is already a dangerous highway. Twelve houses of the sizes indicated could involve an extra 30 plus cars, increasing traffic considerably on a lane with a history of accidents (including upwards of 50% unreported to the police). We are aware that the Highways Department concur with this appraisal and suggest that the developer should, in the event of approval, foot the bill for upgrading the whole lane to an acceptable standard.

• The entrance to the site itself is on a bend with visibility strictly limited. Re-siting the entrance, removing an established thousand year-old hedge and adding a splay will not improve matters. A study of the recommended stopping distances for cars in the Highway Code in bad or icy weather with an untreated road (which this is) clearly demonstrates that safety will inevitably be compromised. It is within the existing 30 m.p.h. area but observation shows the average speed here is in excess of 40 m.p.h. Even from the proposed new site entrance the thinking and breaking distance both east and west would be in the order of 4 - 6 seconds - disastrously insufficient! The plans also show parking bays outside the houses which would allow on-street parking along this difficult lane with further visual obstruction.

• No part of the development site is "Brownfield and Previously Used", as defined by PPG 3. Indeed the total site area proposed is "Greenfield" and agricultural, none of the houses being proposed would be built on any definable footprint of a "Brownfield" area. Other existing buildings on site and the site usage was "agricultural", being used until very recently for horses, pigs and straw storage.

• Whether these properties would be 'affordable' is open to serious question. There is unfortunately a premium on house prices in Seething that will be enough to take them out of any 'affordable' bracket to normal working people. Using the figures in common use for this area suggests that these houses would command a price tag in excess of £155,000 for the double bedroom properties and over £190,000 for the three bedroom ones.
• "Affordable?" We think not!

• The idea that various deeds of covenant could be placed upon houses in this proposed development to make them more acceptable is a fallacious one. There are many examples in the South Norfolk area where restrictions have proved unenforceable within a very short passage of time.

• The design is not vernacular to Norfolk, indeed it is quite alien to the area. A comment obtained from a senior member of the Norfolk County Council historic buildings organisation was that these "... ..are not vernacular.... there are a lot of poorly qualified house designers about currently with very little idea..... "

• Seething has no need of any high density development to maintain any existing facilities. Indeed the school attracts pupils from far and wide, including Norwich and is already overcrowded! (c.f the new mobile classroom added recently).

• This proposed development on the crest of a south-facing slope would be visually intrusive in a largely arable landscape and quite out of keeping with the visual amenity of the remainder of the parish.

• Publicity for this development has been less than extensive locally and the Parish Council have made little attempt to bring the matter to a wider parish audience by putting notice of it in the parish magazine, nor other notices in the area. However, parish meetings on this subject have been held on October 9th and October 28th 2002. At the first one was called, apparently at the request of Mr Beattie, but he failed to show up for in spite of a promise to do so and a reminding phone call during the meeting! At the second meeting parish councilors and residents present voted the proposal down flatly as unacceptable under any circumstances.

• In view of the above observations, and those of the SNDC planners this application was refused at an area planning meeting.