Land at the Deal Ground, Bracondale and Trowse Pumping Station in Norwich and the former May Gurney site at Trowse in South Norfolk

2.11

The Deal Ground comprises an extensive area of disused former industrial land and buildings on the south-eastern fringe of Norwich situated between the main Norwich-London rail line and the confluence of the rivers Wensum and Yare. The majority of the site has been tipped to raise its level: the lower lying eastern edge of the site adjoining the River Yare (including Carrow Abbey Marsh) falls within the river valley and is largely rural in character.

2.12

Adjoining the site to the west is an operational minerals railhead and asphalt plant, situated alongside the railway. This railhead site is safeguarded under policy CS16 in the adopted Minerals and Waste Core Strategy. The railhead currently receives the majority of crushed rock delivered for Norfolk. It benefits from deemed consent and is not subject to any restrictions to operating hours, noise limits etc. The asphalt plant has the benefit of permanent planning permission (ref C/4/2010/4003), which contains conditions regarding noise limits, operational hours etc.

2.13

Development of this site needs to respect and enhance the setting of the designated heritage assets within and adjoining the site: including the grade II listed brick “bottle kiln” in the north part which is in a poor state of repair and on Norwich’s Buildings’ at Risk Register and Trowse Pumping Station within Trowse Millgate Conservation Area to the south.

2.14

The majority of the site lies in Flood Zones 2 and 3, both now and with the addition of climate change. A significant majority of Flood Zone 3 is shown on Environment Agency modelling to actually be Flood Zone 3b Functional Floodplain, with an annual probability of flooding of 5% (1 in 20) and classed as ‘land where water needs to flow and be stored in times of flood’. Residential and commercial development, classed as ‘more vulnerable’ and ‘less vulnerable’ development respectively, is not permitted in Flood Zone 3b. The developable area will be informed by level 2 SFRA. As with all development in Flood Zones, the more vulnerable development, and ideally the less vulnerable development too, will need to be designed with floor levels raised 0.3m above the flood levels for the future 1% (1 in 100) annual probability flood event with 35% and ideally 65% allowances for climate change. Refuge will also need to be provided above the 0.1% (1 in 1000) annual probability 25% climate change flood levels. Compensatory flood storage will also need to be provided for any built development or land raising within the 1% (1 in 100) annual probability flood outline with 35% climate change to ensure no increase in flood risk elsewhere. This will require lowering of higher land in Flood Zone 1 to provide the compensatory flood storage. It is noted that extant outline permission 12/00875/O on the site met these requirements, although climate change allowances have since changed so the required floor levels may be different.

2.15

A significant proportion of the site falling within Norwich is allocated in the adopted ‘Site allocations and site-specific policies’ plan and the major part of it also benefits from outline permission for residential led mixed-use development, although this has not yet been progressed. This is a cross boundary allocation as part of this site also falls within South Norfolk jurisdiction (this is a single policy covering the cross-boundary site). As an existing allocation this site is included in the housing commitment figure and has been considered in the calculation of the housing requirement