Consultation event on major West Winch housing scheme at village hall tonight

Villagers have a chance to have their say on major plans for their area at an event this evening.

From 6-9pm tonight, West Winch residents can fill in physical consultation forms on proposals to construct hundreds of new homes, a school and an access road in the village.

The event, taking place at the village hall on Watering Lane, comes ahead of a special West Norfolk Council planning committee meeting next week to determine the fate of the scheme.

It is the biggest housing project in West Norfolk, and could see up to 4,000 homes built - with the meeting to decide whether to approve the first 1,100.

Approval would also give the green light to a major access road being constructed, linking the new properties to the A10.

Work on a primary school, a “local centre” and public open spaces could also begin if councillors give the scheme the go-ahead.

The borough council’s planning officers have recommended this stage of the project for approval.

Ahead of a decision, people can still have their say on the borough council’s website by visiting this link.

Cllr Alex Kemp, who represents the village, will be in attendance at the hall tonight to hand out physical forms for those who wish to go along.

A significant milestone was reached for the new access road back in March, as £18.39million of funding was greenlit.

This came after an agreement to provide the Brownfield Infrastructure Land funding from Homes England was signed, which allowed the West Winch Housing Access Road project to move forward.

Despite the new Labour government announcing that it is pressing pause on a number of major projects due to their financial implications - including at Lynn’s crumbling Queen Elizabeth Hospital - there has been no suggestion that the West Winch cash is in doubt at this stage.