'Town won't be full of diggers'' - pledge over huge housing development

Last month, councillors at North Norfolk District Council gave the green light for plans to build 950 homes, a 100-bedroom hotel, a pub, shops and school in Fakenham north.

Cambridge Trinity College’s proposal will see 114 acres of land between Rudham Stile Lane and the A148 being used for the development. Increasing Fakenham’s population by 20pc to around 10,000.

NNDC councillor for Fakenham North Christopher Cushing was among those who were in favour of the scheme at the December 10 decision meeting, held via Zoom.

A plan of how the new Fakenham development could look. The pub and hotel would be in the north-west corner (dark blue) the school and shops would be in the centre (in purple and yellow) (Image: NNDC/Planning documents)

He said the development will take time to take shape.

“People think the town will be full of diggers next month, but it's not like that, it is a gradual process,” he said.

“There will be four phases of development on the site and each phase will see 150 to 200 houses being built at a time.

“If you take the first phase, that will only start when Trinity sells the land to a building company.

"It will certainly span over many years, somewhere between 10 to 14 years. It has taken us 12 years to get to this point.

“Trinity is talking to people but we don't know any more than that, or what stage they are in their discussions.

“In the first phase alone it will still take around three years before houses start appearing out of the ground.”

Part of the site for the Fakenham Growth plans on Rudham Stile Lane. Picture: Matthew Usher. (Image: Archant © 201201603 772434)

Some people in Fakenham voiced fears their about the plans, with worries including a build-up in traffic, and the new build becoming a rival to existing services and retail already in the market town.

Mr Cushing wanted people to know there would be chances to voice their concerns during the application phases of the development.

“For each phase, there will be a public consultation and part of that can potentially influence decisions.

“Any member of the public can comment and I’m certain regardless of size all comments are reviewed and taken into account.

“I hope the new services and retail sites won't be competing with those in the town. We want the whole site to benefit the whole of Fakenham.”

Fakenham could see a huge development with 950 new homes go ahead. The site for a school is marked in purple and the dark blue section shows where a hotel and pub would be built. (Image: Define/Planning documents)