Sewerage blow to homes plan

Plans for vast expanses of land to be developed into 3,500 homes in Dereham have had to be scrapped because the town's sewage system is at breaking point.

Plans for vast expanses of land to be developed into 3,500 homes in Dereham have had to be scrapped because the town's sewage system is at breaking point.

Breckland Council has been working towards a Local Development Framework, a document which shapes the future of the district up to 2026.

Last week the Dereham Times reported the council had earmarked 30 sites for development over the next 18 years, to accommodate as many as 3,500 houses.

But now the true figure of new homes to be built has been revealed as a lot less because the present sewage system is almost working at full capacity.

Planners had initially envisaged a larger expansion for the town, but Anglian Water has said it could not cope and is now carrying out a survey to determine exactly how many homes it can cater for.

The preliminary results are expected at the end of July and should the report show the system cannot cope with 1,000 new dwellings then the size of the development will have to be reduced accordingly.

A new sewage system will cost around £20m, and would need to be paid for by Norfolk County Council, which as yet has given no indication it would be willing to pay.

In addition, to provide for the influx of children a new high school would need to be built at a cost of around £20m-Northgate High School and Neatherd High School are both landlocked so have no room to expand.

Framework for Breckland - see page 6.

tFurther details of the LDF can be found online at www.breckland.gov.uk.

What do you think? Should the sewerage system be upgraded and more homes be built or not? Send your views to letters to the editor either by e-mail to julia.carter@archant.co.uk or by letter to the Editor, Dereham and Fakenham Times, Bond House, 31 High Street, Dereham, NR19 1DZ, or post your views through the website.