Streetlife

Good lord Sandra i havent heard about thjis one before,isnt the madness that is Rackeath newtown enough. How can these people say we need so much housing in Norwich and if we do need any, brownfield site should be used.  It makes one fearful for places like Catton Park and Mousehold,.  I was walking with my friend and her dog yesterday in mousehold woods and we were saying how ;lovely it is, so near the city but like a little bit of country, will it still be like that in a few years time, if they get away with this development now, they will be destroying somewhere else next.  I choose to live in Norwich, i originally come from Lowestoft and worked here so moved here, and i love the city, its different to any other city,lets keep it that way,its a special place Norwich, we dont want it to become a giant metropolis.

I am a dog lover, keen walker etc etc. But I am for these plans. More housing NEEDS to be built, along with the proposed plans for medical centres, schools, business hubs. What about those of us who cannot afford a house? there hasn't really any proper building for goodness knows how many years. Even in the 60s the Heartsease Est was just a couple of houses when it started (i know, my nan got one of the 1st ones to be built). If its handled in a way to reflect the current area how can you not be for it? Schools are jam packed (I even have to walk about 20ish minutes to get my son to a Nursery school!). They are not going to tear down the woods, thats just silly talk! How are places ever meant to grow without a bit of change? What about us who want to remain in Norwich, where me and my family all grew up, but with no housing? Am I meant to remain here at my mothers house with my toddler and fiance forever?

The trouble is Fiona, how many of these developments turn out to have much affordable housing, has Queens Hill, the Blue Boar lane one, Dussindale, no of course they havent, because all developers think about is the bottom line and the infrastructure to cope with the housing they never think about.They promise so much but as you can see with all the other developments in the city, it never happens. They do not build the schools, etc to cope with it, thats mostly idle promises .

Also surely brownfield sites are better, take that piece of land in mousehold avenue, just before you get to indian resturant,its been cleared for 3 years, nothing has happened with it, that would be great for affordable housing, in the city,near amenities etc but it just sits there,doesent that show you how it really is. Ask city hall why nothing has been done with it, i bet its all to do with money,.cause that sadly is all they care about.

And no it isnt silly talk to say they will not tear down woods, there are plans in pipeline for part of Thorpe woods now.

Fiona, you need to visit the SNUB website at http://www.snubcampaign.org/ in order to find out what is really going on with all this proposed development, and Broadland District Councils expansion plans.

June is right, and I have signed the petition. There are plenty of empty properties as it is, that people can't afford to rent and can't get a mortgage to buy. There is plenty of brownfield land to build on within and around the City but it is, of course, more expensive because of its location and there are often expenses in clearing it of pollutants that those wishing to build over our fields and forests don't have to face.

The infrastructure is straining to cope with the current population, so to deliberately attract  more people from away before providing better facilities is unfair to the incomers and unfair to us residents.

That is very true, use the wasted land where the old show factory was (mousehold lane). its just im so frustrated with the fact there is not enough "affordable housing", schools and doctors (my finace moved in with us here from Bungay about 5years ago yet cant join local doctors as too full..........) and now our little boy is in Nursery we have to walk about 20mins to just get there. if they built the schools at same time as housing at least it'll all be ready........although havent signed the petition have given them my views rebgarding it x

Hi Fiona, walking 20 mins to Nursery school with your youngster is quite common, when I was at school 50 years ago I had a 45 min walk to school and that was in Sprowston. When my own children were at school I walked them 30 mins to school (and I am talking about nursery, primary and middle age groups) and back from my current address, many others travelled further and this was nothing to do with schools being full or catchment areas-this was our nearest school! I dont think this new estate will change that. Our local high school already buses children in from Spixworth and Frettenham-this new estate will feed into that school which is already overflowing. These buses add to the congestion. The new estate will not be far enough away to qualify for free bus travel so they will be expected to walk it!

i got school bus to middle and high school as they were other side of city (catholic) but went to local school which was fab until they closed it down a few yrs ago (woodside). i absolutely hated taking him to the playgroup at heartsease school (teachers were fab, parents were bullies) so now take him to sprowston (cecil gowing nursery) he starts receptio next yaer and have applied for st williams way....our high school (notre dame) had school buses from all over norfolk and even one from suffolk! what they need to do is build a high school. so many primaryies now feed into one or 2 highs, its really unbelievable...

(its takes roughly 20mins walk there, then same back)

Think we could all tell them brownfield sites all over city they could use for housing there are quite a few in sprowston but of course they are more expensive than greenfield ones.  Also need to build the schools,doctors surgeries to go with them and with budgets being cut, health service changes etc.  will that happen? ,  And of course Fiona people have freedom now to send their kids to which school they want,not their local area, when i was a kid you went to your local school, that was it,that totally scues scbool rolls completely.

Like your fiance i come from suffolk, lowestoft, worked here for a long time,love norwich so moved here, know property prices are very high, i sold my 3 bed victorian terrace when house prices were low and i could only afford to buy a one bedroomed flat, which isnt really big enough for me, certainly wouldnt be for someone with a child, so can see how hard your situation is. Sad that those in positions of authority who could help you dont see it and use some joined up thinking.

i visited the display last weekend in the Diamond Centre and spoke to the guy from Beyond Green. i asked him about the roads and he had no answers. after further discussion about other aspects of the plan his parting shot was "i don't llike people like you, you argue too much" My reply "i have to live here, you don't"
i have signed the patition. it was bad enough when they build north of white woman lane, if this goes ahead nobody will be able to get anywhere. as the previous posts i agree that there are plenty of brownfield sites left in the city that could be used.
as for North Walsham road, it dangerous enough now. there was at least three deaths along there in the last year - and that's before they start building!

If anyone hasn't seen the plans for this yet then here they are!
http://www.beyondgreen.co.uk/library/2012/10/08/north-sprowston-and-old-catton-outline-planning-appl...

I also went to the exhibition and after a lot of questioning by me about transport, the man from Beyond Green admitted that transport in Sprowston / Catton will be worse in the short term.  This in until everyone in the new development take take advantage of all these marvellous new public transport initiatives!  Yeah, in your dreams!  With 3,500 new homes, that's potentially 7,000 extra cars travelling down the North Walsham / Wroxham / Spixworth Roads during the rush hour, and then rat-running through Sprowston and Catton.  It's already bad where I live (Allens Lane) and I've seen a few near misses with children crossing the road on the way to school.  Also, every home in the new development is allocated 1.5 parking spaces so people living towards the north of Sprowston / Catton may find their streets being used as car parks by people who can't park near their new homes.  I think it's awful and can't believe the local councils have let it get this far, let alone agreeing with it.

Are you a member of SNUB Chris they are doing stirling work to try and controll thes e developments. Wroxham and sprowston roads are hell now dear god what will they be like then. Why are they so helllbent on ruining the nicest city in uk to live in beats me,Norwich has all the amenities of a city but not the disadvantages, why do they want to ruin this. Better public transport,with First bus running it.that i doubt.

There are two easy answers to your question, June ("Why are they so helllbent on ruining the nicest city in uk to live in").

1 They don't know or care how nice it is - they don't live here; and

2 To line their pockets! Hit and run... and on to ruin probably the second-nicest... wherever that may be...

For you information, all.  I attended part of a Parish Council meeting at Rackheath last night.  By coincidence also there was a representatives from Wherry Housing, and a lady from Broadland Housing.  They were there to answer some questions about the exemplar 'Eco' houses recently built in Trinity Close, Rackheath.  These houses are supposed to be examples of what type of house is likely to be constructed in the future, i.e. on the so called Rackheath Eco Town.  The representative from Wherry Housing had to admit that the fuel bills being experienced by the new residents of Trinity Close were much higher than those residents had to pay in their previously occupied houses.  I heard in one case an extra £100 a quarter.  So don't let the Sprowston developers con anyone with talk of carbon friendly housing.  These houses built to Grade 6, ("Eco"), are expensive to build, expensive to rent without subsidy, and expensive to run.

The developers seem to think that they willl attract buyers from other areas to Norfolk by building these homes-but surely one of the main reasons that people (and statistically these people are often older looking for somewhere to spend their retirement) want to come air is because of the countryside and rural location. They are not going to want to live in a massive new estate.

As someone stated on the petition lets use Anglia Square first -there must be room there for hundreds of new homes.

So true Heather, i was saying to my friend today as we walked her dog in drayton woods, and you come out unto a field, so near the city and and an open space,like being in country, how long before someone decides this should be built on. Norwich is a cjty different to any other, i chose to live here and i love it very much, and it makes me sad to think it could be turned into just another metropolis,like many others. As ypu say Sandra affordable housing in Anglia square sounds great idea, brownfield site, perfect

As a retiree though may i say lots of us, well me, dont want to live in  rural isolation, i lived in a suffolk village,. albeit a commuter one to lowestoft for years, i hated it. commuted to norwich for ages  much happier as a non driver in the city, would never move back. Norwich stole my heart, i just dont want to see it ruined.

Application for planning permission has been submitted we now only have 3 weeks to make our feelings known-
here is the link-we voted Broadland council in the least they can do is ask us what we would like them to do!  http://www.beyondgreen.co.uk/category/news/broadland/

Big spread in the paper tonight, I think they are living in cloud cuckoo land.  Fruit and nuts to eat!!! what sort of planet are they living on??

Please click on this link then click on "SAY NO to the redevelopment " and hit "Like" we need as many likes as we can get also signatures on the petition.  Please ask all friends and families to sign and hit Like as well.

www.facebook.com/SprowstonSaysNOToTheRedevelopmentOfSprowston

Direct link here hopefully, please sign our petition and click our Like button to show that we will not take this lying down.
Thanks

Done debs, have you linked up with SNUB, my friend Sara who is quite active with them seems to know all about it, so guess you have. They would im sure be able tohelp you with many more signatures. Just cant understand why that bit of land near the Indian resturant in mousehold lane is not developed, its been sitting like that for the 3 years ive lived in Sprowston.  Ideal for low cost housing, why is it just standing there, a brownfield site when they want to develop open countryside, sheer madness,also the old school playing field in sprowston road, before you get to Prince Denmark. Ok these would be small scale development but isnt that what we really need, there must be similar all over city.

3 years June -I think you could possibly add another 10 to that!

Not forgetting the site of the old garage on Sprowston Road opposite Shipfields which has been empty for over 20 years at least!!

Also the site of the old pub at the Woodside Road mini roundabout as well, I am sure if you thought about it you would think about lots more available sites in the Sprowston vicinity.......

Sara has made contact with me and I will certainly be looking to work closely with SNUB