Roydon Parish Council

Report by District Councillor David Goldson

November 2017

1. The Local Plan.

The main focus of the Greater Norwich Development partnership (GNDP) is on housing needs and distribution. Taking account of the most recent Government rules for calculating housing needs, the GNDP (Norwich, Broadland & South Norfolk) will need to provide 42900 new homes up to the end of the new Local Plan. As 35700 of these are already within the current plan, only a further 7200 must be found during the period of the new plan under development.Of these 3900 are to be earmarked for bownfield sites in urban areas and for rural areas, whilst the rest may be directed towards specific growth areas.

2. Local Development Scheme

This is a document setting out the timescale for developing the detailed documents in support of the Local Plan (both the GNDP and South Norfolk Plans). An interesting development is to cease work on a specific Gypsies & Travellers section of the papers. A change in the definition of G&Ts has brought them into a category relating to Caravans and Houseboats with much tighter rules about qualifications as a separate group.

3. s106 monies for building of affordable houses

Several residential developments have produced s106 monies in addition or in lieu of the developer’s requirement to build a percentage of affordable houses. SNDC will be applying the money (£1.2M) for building (or acquiring) affordable homes for shared ownership or shared equity occupation. The market for renting is currently being met satisfactorily.

4. Council Tax Support Scheme

SNDC has operated a CT support scheme for several years, enabling hardship qualifying residents to receive reduced council tax bills. The scheme is reviewed annually and will be continued into 2018-19.

5. County Council Budget Savings consultation

Norfolk County Council has saved £334M since 2011 and has a further £125M to save by 2021. SNDC has responded to NCC’s consultation, confirming that the strategic priorities of the two councils are aligned and emphasising that any apparent savings must not simply transfer the burden to other authorities. SNDC recognises the extreme difficulty in maintaining children’s and adult social services and remains committed to expanding joint working ventures such as the Early Help Hub, which serve to reduce the calls on social services.

6. Awards for Excellence

South Norfolk has been shortlisted in two categories of the prestigious Local Government Chronicle awards – Entrepreneurial Council of the Year and the Public Partnership category for its work with the South Norfolk Help Hub. The winners will be announced in March next year.