Thanks to the EDP for publishing a follow up.
Below is the text we had hoped to get published.
Barnham Broom: At The Heart Of The Village And Community Outrage Lies A Crossroads.
Barnham Broom, South Norfolk – Drive past the Barnham Broom Country Club and on for another mile, and you'll find yourself in a picturesque South Norfolk village. At the heart of Barnham Broom lies a crossroads, a scene seemingly untouched for centuries. To the right stands the old village shop, a fixture since 1814, and nearby, The Bell Inn, serving the community since 1763. On the left, a tranquil three and a half acre meadow, home to grazing sheep beneath an old Lime tree, completes a timeless and peaceful rural setting.
But this serene setting at the crossroads, the literal heart of Barnham Broom, is now at the epicentre of an unfolding nightmare for villagers.
The story began in 2021 with the launch of the Village Clusters Housing Allocation Plan (VCHAP) process in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. South Norfolk Council's decision to communicate their plans for 1200 houses across South Norfolk via a "Virtual Town Hall" and the “Link” Magazine has drawn sharp criticism. "We just didn’t know anything about this process and that the meadow was going to have 40 houses built on it. Why didn’t they just send us a letter? states concerned resident Molly Haig.
The lack of public consultation in Barnham Broom was starkly evident, with only four comments from a population of 670. This low engagement mirrored broader South Norfolk planning processes: the 2023 and 2024 Regulation 19 publications saw only 399 and 92 responses across the entire district respectively, amounting to a mere 0.27% and 0.06% of residents. In dramatic contrast, the true scale of local opposition in Barnham Broom became undeniable in May of this year. Within days of learning about the proposed development on the meadow, 450 people signed a petition in objection.
A dedicated working group of villagers is now investigating how the meadow at the crossroads became the site SNDC has chosen for 40 new houses based on a site assessment carried out in 2021. "This is very frustrating," explains Lynn Dorsett, who is a member of the working group. "We're not NIMBYs; most of us welcome 40 new houses, but this is the worst possible location. We've found out that many other sites we would consider to be appropriate were put forward in Barnham Broom, but unfortunately, Norfolk County Council Highways discounted them due to access issues."
The exception is the meadow site at the crossroads in Barnham Broom. It was viewed favourably by Norfolk County Council Highways because it offered the opportunity to add a new junction that would need to be paid for by the housing developer. This decision has baffled villagers. According to Sara Harrold, a former member of the parish council who worked with David Allfrey from the County Council identifying local road improvements in response to the Norwich Western Link traffic from 2019 onwards, "Highways had previously indicated that the crossroads would require 'driver education' at most. However, in 2021, there was a sudden shift in stance where, working with other Parish Council members, Highways decided significant changes were needed to the junction. We need clarity on who from Highways dictated that changes were required and the evidence needed for this’’.
Villagers' anger has been further inflamed by the Parish Council's decision not to comment on the meadow site application during the Regulation 19 stage in 2023, leaving many feeling unrepresented, betrayed and leading to calls for the Parish Council to resign. "If we had known this was the chosen site, we would have objected. Why didn’t the Parish Council do more?" voiced frustrated resident Glenn Ireland. “Compounding this frustration is the discovery that some Parish Council members stand to financially benefit from the sale of the meadow site, as well as other potential development sites in Barnham Broom that South Norfolk Council will only consider if the crossroads is upgraded as requested by Highways”.
"This is a real blow to the village," laments Sue Greenwood, a local resident of more than 35 years. "We're trying to deal with all of this at the same time as our village shop closing last year and the pub's long-term future being uncertain after it applied to build two bungalows in its car park and garden."
The concern and anger is palpable in Barnham Broom: “if current plans proceed, the very essence of Barnham Broom will be irrevocably altered. Instead of the tranquil meadow, visitors and residents will be confronted by 40 high-density dwellings crammed into a three and a half acre site, potentially with no village shop and no pub," says resident Ian Bailey. "There was an opportunity to add 40 houses to a site villagers would have actually been happy with. Instead SNDC have picked the worst site of all to accommodate a new junction no one locally seems to be asking for!". “The decision to prioritise upgrades at this location appears questionable, particularly when two other sites in the village present more serious safety concerns which are not being addressed. The plan for this crossroad seems even less justified now, given the upcoming 20 mph speed limit, the shelving of the Western Link project, and the absence of parking issues near the village shop, which remains closed with no signs of reopening” adds Franco Mariuzzo.
On the 4th June, seven villagers met with South Norfolk Council's (SNC) Place Shaping manager to voice their concerns and advocate for a pause to consider alternative development sites in Barnham Broom. While the meeting was appreciated by the villagers, they were informed that only the three initial objectors to the meadow site will be permitted to present their case at the final stage before the Planning Inspectorate in October. There will be no opportunity for the 450 to object because they didn’t raise their concerns as part of the consultation process.
"We do not feel that this consultation process, started in lock-down and led by SNC, was completed fairly or properly. We need this to be recognised and ask for a pause and a common-sense approach from South Norfolk Council," urges Tony Jervis, who grew up in the village and has memories of playing on the meadow as a child. Silvi Berger added “The meadow should remain a green space and could actually benefit the village and help support the shop and pub in the future. If the land was purchased by the village, it could become the thriving heart of the village that even SNDC recognised it should be in its own site assessments”.
Local Councillor Richard Elliott said: “I share residents’ concerns about the proposed development. The meadow is part of Barnham Broom’s identity and the perfect site for community use as a village green. Sadly, the early engagement about these housing proposals failed to reach many people, but it is vital that local concerns must now be fully heard and considered before any final decisions are made, especially as circumstances in the village have changed substantially since the initial assessments were made. We all recognise the need for new housing, but it must be delivered in a way that brings the community together, not divides it.”
‘‘This meadow has remained unploughed in living memory, meaning it has a uniquely mature ecosystem. Pouring concrete on it will destroy this forever’’ laments villager, Andy Frew.
George Freeman MP commented: “The meadow at the heart of Barnham Broom is an iconic part of the village’s heritage. Any proposed development must carefully balance the need for housing with the preservation of this unique rural landscape and the strong local sentiment surrounding its future.”