Long Stratton (including part of Tharston and Hapton parish)

Long Stratton has a good range of services and facilities that are mainly located along The Street/Ipswich Road (A140). On the western side of the town there are primary and secondary schools, GP surgery, library, and a leisure centre.  Long Stratton has a strong employment base, with the main offices of South Norfolk Council and Saffron Housing Trust, along with a wide variety of businesses at Tharston Industrial Estate.

The estimated population at mid-2019 for the wider Long Stratton area (including the neighbouring villages of Tharston, Hapton and Wacton was 5,897 people.  Parts of the settlement of Long Stratton, i.e. the continuous built up area, fall within Tharston and Hapton Parish therefore the vast majority of this population will be within the settlement of Long Stratton.

The historic core of Long Stratton evolved north-south along the A140, which is a main arterial route between Norwich and Ipswich.  Whilst the A140 provides good connectivity for Long Stratton, including regular bus services between Diss and Norwich, the volume of traffic and the proportion of HGVs, means it also has a detrimental impact on the environmental quality and attractiveness of the centre.

In recent decades estate development has been added away from this central area; whilst those to the west have excellent walking and cycling opportunities to access the main services and facilities, the current A140 is more of a barrier to housing to the east.

In terms of the landscape and environment, the Tas Valley is to the west and various designated common lands are to the east and south.  The sensitivity of these landscapes , both to intrusion by development and local visitor impact, is recognised in the level of green infrastructure required in the Area Action Plan.  A number of listed buildings can be found along the A140, with the core of Long Stratton being a designated Conservation Area.

Current plans for Long Stratton, including parts of Tharston and Hapton parish, are set out in Long Stratton Area Action Plan (LSAAP, May 2016), which allocates a minimum of 1,800 new houses, 12 hectares of employment, an enhanced town centre and supporting infrastructure, most significantly including a by-pass on the eastern side of the settlement.  The bypass in particular is designed to benefit the whole community.  These plans will grow Long Stratton from a well-served large village, to a small town, with the bypass facilitating a better-quality environment for the town centre.  The growth also aims to maintain a balance between housing, employment and the necessary supporting infrastructure.

At December 2020 the bulk of the LSAAP proposals were being taken forward in two parallel planning applications.  Government funding had also been secured to complete the business case for the bypass.

In 2016 a Neighbourhood Plan area for Long Stratton was agreed that covers the same extent as the LSAAP. The Neighbourhood Plan is currently being progressed, reaching its pre-submission stage in December 2019. Within the Plan are various proposals for housing types, design and character, the town centre, green infrastructure, outdoor recreation, and community infrastructure; but the Neighbourhood Plan does not make any additional site allocations.

The Long Stratton Area Action Plan (or any successor document) remains the primary document for site allocations, but regard should be given to the strategic policies and requirements of the GNLP and it is expected that standard requirements are met. These vary from place to place, but are likely to include mitigations for flood risk (as well as SUDs), highways improvements, safeguarding of minerals resources, land remediation, measures to protect the environment, biodiversity, and minimise landscape intrusion.

There are no new sites identified as preferred options in Long Stratton. The GNLP is also not carrying forward the LSAAP allocations, as the GNLP does not replace the AAP.1,800 homes in the Long Stratton Area Action Plan, 89 homes completed April 2018 to March 2020 (including 54 in Tharston & Hapton Parish) and 31 additional dwellings with planning permission (including 5 in Tharston and Hapton parish); this gives a total deliverable housing commitment for the Long Stratton and part of Tharston & Hapton of 1,914 homes between 2018-2038.