Weston Homes to scrap redevelopment of Anglia Square
It was set to bring major investment and new jobs to Norwich
Weston Homes say they have been forced to cancel plans to redevelop Anglia Square in Norwich after eight years, which was set to deliver up to 1,100 new homes, because of a number of issues which have impacted the viability of the scheme and made funding extremely difficult.
The regeneration was set to bring major inward investment and new jobs to Norwich and was planned to provide up to 1,100 new homes of mixed tenure, up to 8,000 sq m (86,111 sqft) of non-residential (retail, office and leisure) floorspace in addition to a community hub, community hall and new employment floorspace for a range of businesses.
The suspension of the planned scheme follows eight years of investment and consultation between Weston Homes, Norwich City Council, the people of Norwich and an extensive range of stakeholders which resulted in the creation of a local scheme and a successful Resolution to Grant Planning gained in April 2023.
Weston Homes say the reason for their withdrawl from the scheme is due to seven key issues which have led to delays in the scheme, additional costs and negatively impacted on the financial viability of the project.
The first of these is the planning delays and related costs Weston Homes has been hit with due to national government intervention in the proposed scheme.
Weston Homes initial proposals for Anglia Square were granted local consent by Norwich City Council planning committee back in 2018 however the then Housing Minister, Robert Jenrick overturned the local planning consent and the inspector’s recommendation to approve.
The developers say Robert Jenrick’s intervention resulted in Weston Homes having to return to the drawing board and design a revised scheme to address the issues raised by the Secretary of State.
There was then a further 12 months of local community and key stakeholder consultation before the current project received a Resolution to Grant in April 2023.
During the planning delays there was the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021), which has had a major impact on the viability of the proposed office and retail space within the scheme, with the rise in homeworking and digital retailing reducing market demand for commercial space and retail units.
Bob Weston, Chairman & Managing Director of Weston Homes says: “It is with deep regret that after eight years of hard work, substantial staff time and resources and some £7.5 million of capital expenditure Weston Homes has been forced to cancel our plans for the redevelopment of Anglia Square.
I am personally gutted to have to write-off millions of pounds of company investment and not have a new scheme to show at the end of the venture. Weston Homes has bent-over-backwards to make this work and we have worked closely with Norwich City Council and the people of Norwich to try and realise a scheme that meets both local aspirations and is financially viable.
I would like to add that throughout the eight-year process, Norwich City Council cabinet and officers have worked tirelessly to facilitate the redevelopment of Anglia Square.”