Agenda item

Decision

RESOLVED TO

1)    Note the outcome of the Inspector’s Report into the examination of the North Norfolk Local Plan, dated 31 October 2025 (Appendix 1 & 2);

2)    Recommend to Full Council that the Council adopts the modified Local Plan which incorporates the Main Modifications as the appropriate basis for the future planning of the whole District (Appendix 3);

3)    Notes that all policies of the North Norfolk Core Strategy 2008 and the Site Allocations; Development Plan Document 2011 (the current Local Plan) will be superseded by the new Local Plan upon adoption. This is subject to the provisions of paragraph 9.3 of this report that: ‘Upon adoption there is a six-week window under section 113 of the Planning  and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 during which an aggrieved party can challenge the decision to adopt a Local Plan on legal and procedural grounds’

4)    Delegates authority to the Assistant Director for Planning to publish the Adoption Statement and accompanying documents, making the North Norfolk Local Plan part of the Adopted Development Plan for North Norfolk;

5)    Delegates authority to the Planning Policy Manager to make any further necessary non-material modifications and any further updates to the Policies Map as required.

Reason for the decision:

It is a legal requirement to have an up-to-date Local Plan for the Council’s administrative area and to undertake review at least every five years. The updated North Norfolk Local Plan has been guided by a balanced cross-party working party, undergone formal rounds of consultation and independent examination by a Planning Inspector, and has been found “sound” subject to the inclusion of modifications and provides an appropriate basis for the planning of the District. The Plan provides the Council’s Strategic Planning Framework and is required in order to ensure the Council has an up-to-date Local Plan in place from which planning decisions are made.

The Portfolio Holder for Planning & Enforcement, Cllr A Brown, introduced this item. He began by thanking officers, both past and present, for their support in bringing the Local Plan to the final approval stage. It had taken 10 years and he referred members to page 106 of the agenda which set out the key stages to date. Members had been involved throughout the process via the Planning Policy & Built Heritage Working Party and Cabinet – across three administrations. As well as examination by the Planning Inspector, there had also been public consultations. There was no doubt that it had been a comprehensive process.

He thanked the Acting Planning Policy Manager and his team and also Members, who had voted in April 2023 to refer the Local Plan to the Planning Inspector for inspection.

He then outlined why the Local Plan was needed. He said that it gave the Council control over developments in the district and without a new plan in place, there would be a requirement after the 1^st January 2026 to start a new plan. This would present huge challenges, especially with LGR on the horizon and the introduction of a new Strategic Mayoral Authority. The Council would also lose the current housing delivery test which stood at 557 dwellings per year to 2040 and without a plan, this would increase to 932 dwellings per year, leaving the district vulnerable to speculative developers.

He acknowledged that the Plan was not perfect and accepted that there may be challenges to it ahead, especially with the Government’s ambitions for housing growth.

In conclusion, Cllr Brown said that with no Local Plan in place, the District would lose the Neighbourhood Plan conformance process and out them in jeopardy. There would also be substantial financial implications of having to start a new plan afresh.

The Chair said that it was a significant achievement, and he thanked officers and members for their hard work. He also acknowledged that it was not perfect and there were sites across the District that would make both members and residents uncomfortable. He reiterated that members must think of the implications of not approving the Plan, adding that there would be a doubling of housing numbers for a start and an increase in speculative development.

Cllr L Shires thanked Cllr Brown and the Planning Policy Team for their hard work. She said that residents didn’t fully understand all the complex layers of the planning process. Referring to North Walsham (NW16), Cllr Shires said that a lot of new dwelling were planned, which was welcomed by local residents, particularly families,  but they were concerned about the impact on services such as healthcare. She went onto say that the land at the end of Mundesley Road (NW16), was causing particular concerns. It had been a late addition to the Plan and was presented almost as a ‘done deal’ by developers. This had caused considerable concern and she said that Local Members would need to work with the community to identify the opportune moment for them to feed into the process and ensure that residents understood the difference between the Local Plan and the separate route for considering planning applications. She added that she felt that she could support the approval of the Local Plan because she understood the intent behind it and she would continue to support and engage with the local community when planning applications came forward and push for section 106 agreements to be put in place to ensure the infrastructure was in place to support them.

The Chair agreed with Cllr Shires comments, adding that it was important to remember the Local Plan was for the whole district and to consider the implications of not approving it.

Cllr C Cushing spoke about the Fakenham Urban extension and said that it was still not underway and this demonstrated that even when dwellings were proposed for certain areas, it was still challenging for them to reach the development stage. He then asked Cllr Brown about the Government’s previously stated ambitions for approximately 980 houses per annum in North Norfolk and asked about the risk of this still happening, even with an approved Local Plan in place. Cllr Brown replied that it was a huge risk. Currently, because NNDC submitted its plan when it did, whilst many other councils paused theirs to await Government changes to the planning process, the Council was subject to ‘transitional arrangements’. This meant the housing delivery test would follow the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) of the previous government and not the new NPPF. If the Local Plan was not adopted, then the new much larger housing delivery test would come into effect straightaway, resulting in a significant uplift in numbers.

Cllr V Holliday thanked the Planning Policy Team for all their hard work. Like other members, she reiterated that although the Local Plan was good for the wider district, there were elements of it that were causing some concern and this should not be ignored. The Chair agreed, adding that the call for sites was like ‘rolling the dice’. That said, the benefits for the wider district outweighed the impact on individual areas.

Cllr J Toye said that the Local Plan had been produced for good reasons and make the most of the opportunities presented.

The Chair said that members should remember that the Plan was not just about housing but that it also covered economic, heritage and environmental issues. He added that residents were very concerned about healthcare provision and he hoped the Government would take note of this. Cllr Toye said that the Government had recently committed to opening 250 neighbourhood health centres, so this was an area to monitor.

It was proposed by Cllr A Brown, seconded by Cllr J Toye and

RESOLVED TO

1)    Note the outcome of the Inspector’s Report into the examination of the North Norfolk Local Plan, dated 31 October 2025 (Appendix 1 & 2);

2)    Recommend to Full Council that the Council adopts the modified Local Plan which incorporates the Main Modifications as the appropriate basis for the future planning of the whole District (Appendix 3);

3)    Notes that all policies of the North Norfolk Core Strategy 2008 and the Site Allocations; Development Plan Document 2011 (the current Local Plan) will be superseded by the new Local Plan upon adoption. This is subject to the provisions of paragraph 9.3 of this report that: ‘Upon adoption there is a six-week window under section 113 of the Planning  and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 during which an aggrieved party can challenge the decision to adopt a Local Plan on legal and procedural grounds’

4)    Delegates authority to the Assistant Director for Planning to publish the Adoption Statement and accompanying documents, making the North Norfolk Local Plan part of the Adopted Development Plan for North Norfolk;

5)    Delegates authority to the Planning Policy Manager to make any further necessary non-material modifications and any further updates to the Policies Map as required.

Reason for the decision:

It is a legal requirement to have an up-to-date Local Plan for the Council’s administrative area and to undertake review at least every five years. The updated North Norfolk Local Plan has been guided by a balanced cross-party working party, undergone formal rounds of consultation and independent examination by a Planning Inspector, and has been found “sound” subject to the inclusion of modifications and provides an appropriate basis for the planning of the District. The Plan provides the Council’s Strategic Planning Framework and is required in order to ensure the Council has an up-to-date Local Plan in place from which planning decisions are made.