Land South of Burgh Road, Aylsham

Ecology and Landscape

The proposals include new tree planting and a community orchard, bird and bat boxes and the creation of biodiverse SuDS. Green infrastructure enhancements are proposed along the Bure Valley Walk.

This, along with areas of wildflower meadow planting and planting along the eastern boundary will increase the landscape features of the site and help to provide visual interest and a landscape framework to the new houses.

The proposals will retain the hedgerows, where practicable, with some loss for vehicular and pedestrian access. The woodland copse will also be retained.

Environmental Commitment

At Hopkins Homes, we strive for continuous improvement.

Each of the new homes will seek to exceed with the latest Building Regulations that reflect improving standards.

The homes will meet current standards of insulation and incorporate a fabric first approach to minimise energy use.

Character Areas

An analysis of local vernacular has found the use of mainly brick, with a mixture of red and orange and occasional yellow or yellow white for workers cottages. Brick detailing such as quoining, patterning with grey or blue bricks, dentilled cornice below the eves and decorative brick string course can be found. Pantiles are a common roof pattern across different architectural forms.

These features have informed the following proposed character areas shown below:

Transport and Access

There will be two vehicle access points from Burgh Road. These have been agreed with Norfolk County Council (NCC) Highways and form part of the proposals for the site allocation in the emerging Local Plan.

A Transport Assessment and Travel Plan will be submitted to the Council to demonstrate that the local road network will be able to cope with additional activity associated with the development. Parking will be provided in accordance with NCC’s ‘Parking Standards for Norfolk 2007’ document.

The proposals have been designed to prioritise sustainable transport, with walking and cycling routes incorporated throughout the development. A new pedestrian refuge crossing facility will be provided on Burgh Road, together with a formal crossing on the A140 to connect to the Bure Valley Walk.

The site is in a sustainable location, with good access to local services and public transport. The closest bus stops are located a short distance from the site on Burgh Road. Regular services provide a connection to/from Aylsham town centre, Reepham and Norwich city centre.

Drainage

The site is situated in Flood Zone 1. This is a “low probability” flood zone with a less than 1 in 1000 annual probability of flooding.  The site is at ‘low’ risk of fluvial flooding both now and over the lifetime of any development.

The majority of the site is also at ‘very low’ risk of surface water flooding and most of the areas at a higher risk will be left as public open space with surface water drainage managed through Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS).

SuDS is an approach which seeks to slow down and reduce the amount of run-off from a development, mimicking natural drainage systems. SuDS also deliver biodiversity benefits for wildlife and improve the general amenity of a development.

Foul drainage is proposed to connect to the existing public foul sewer that crosses the site, subject to the consent of Anglian Water.

Community Infrastructure

The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a fixed rate payment which Councils can charge to off-set the impact of additional homes on local infrastructure such as roads, schools, open space and health centres.

In addition to a CIL contribution, it is expected that Hopkins Homes will make further contributions to the improvement of local infrastructure and services through a Section 106 legal agreement.