The Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) has been formally adopted by the city council, seven years after work first began on it.

A full council meeting on March 12 confirmed the council’s decision after its cabinet recommended adoption on March 6.

The GNLP, as the starting point for all planning applications, aims to unlock up to 45,050 new homes and includes targets to create 33,000 new jobs and provide 360 additional hectares of employment land by 2038 across the Greater Norwich area.

The joint plan was produced with Broadland District Council and South Norfolk Council, working in partnership with Norfolk County Council and the Broads Authority.

All three councils must adopt the plan separately. South Norfolk Council’s cabinet will examine GNLP adoption on March 18, with its full due to make its decision on March 25. Broadland District Council’s cabinet makes its decision on adoption on March 19 and it will go to full council on March 28.

There is now a six-week legal period when challenges on the process can be made.

Leader of Norwich City Council Cllr Mike Stonard said after the March 12 meeting: “Last night represented a hugely significant milestone as full council adopted the Greater Norwich Local Plan. Having it in place will increase the confidence that we can give to developers to invest in our area, help deliver sustainable new homes where they are most needed and create good jobs in key economic sectors.

“The plan has been many years in development, working closely alongside our partners in neighbouring councils, and I look forward to seeing our communities reap the benefits.”

Image: Juha Agren, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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