Concerns raised about 'care village' planned near Norwich
Plans would see hundreds of retirement homes built on the Colney Hall estate
Last updated 23rd Aug 2022
Early concerns have been raised about plans to develop an innovative care village on the outskirts of Norwich.
Plans to build hundreds of retirement homes and a hi-tech research facility on the estate of Colney Hall, adjacent to the Norwich Research Park, were unveiled earlier this month.
Present and former councillors have raised concerns about the plans and their impacts on roads, whether facilities like sewage systems are in place and if it was overdeveloping the site.
But the developers say the scale is necessary and will help innovate social care, a sector which is currently struggling to keep up with demand.
The scheme aims to mix academic research into improving social care with a bespoke training campus and living accommodation.
It would see inter-generational smart homes and retirement living/extra care apartments, a care home and student accommodation built on the site.
Professor Tim O’Riordan, the co-chair of Colney Parish Council, raised concerns about the scale of the development.
With around 160 residents, Colney has one of the smallest populations in south Norfolk.
He said: “The parish council has the view that it is an overdeveloped area.
“We accept there is a need for the hospital and the research park, but there’s no need for this to be here.
“The hospital and the UEA have got behind this but that is because they like the concept, we are asking if this is the right location for a place that doesn’t have the facilities for a development of this scale?
“It’s a very small parish – it’s a good concept but it should go somewhere more appropriate.”
The councillor, who is also a professor of environmental sciences at the UEA and president of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) in Norfolk, also argued that the current local plan – which sets out areas for development in the South Norfolk Council area – did not allow for expansion on this scale.
However, Professor Charles ffrench-Constant, UEA pro-vice chancellor for medicine and health sciences, has previously called the plans a “pioneering” development that will generate benefits in living, care, health and environmental sustainability.
Dr Graham Martin, a former parish councillor, also raised concerns about the plans.
He argued the scheme would add extra traffic to the B1108, an already busy road, which he said would slow people getting to the UEA and NNUH.
He added: “There’s already a care village in the next village in Bowthorpe, do we need another one?
“It’s not on the main sewage and it would be difficult to put one in there.
“It’s unnecessary, as far as I can see.”
Dr Saul Humphrey, the development’s project management consultant, rejected many of the concerns.
He called worries about overdevelopment “subjective” and said the scheme had been carefully designed to balance the needs of the UEA in meeting their research goals and the local area.
“The designers have come up with a clever design that is covered from any angle unless you are a bird,” he said.
“The people closest to the development, such as the Montessori school, have not objected to the plan.”
He also said the site is set to be included in the Greater Norwich Local Plan – a blueprint for development across the region which is currently going through government consultation.
If the site and plan are accepted it will make seeking approval for the development easier.
Mr Humphrey said the county and the country were in desperate need of more care facilities, he said: “We literally have a social care crisis, we need thousands more beds, not hundreds. By 2040 there will be 18m people in the UK aged over 65.”
He also pointed to a letter from Norfolk County Council leader Andrew Proctor in 2020, which supported development on the site.
He added the extra care space would allow hospital beds to be freed up, easing pressure on the health service.
The development will also be supported by an on-site private sewage treatment works.
Mr Martin also raised concerns that heron nesting ground could be damaged but Mr Humphrey insists that is a different site and there will be a biodiversity net gain with thousands of new trees planted on the site.
The proposals have been submitted to South Norfolk Council but are not yet available to view.