Rackheath Eco-town
Encyclopedia
The Rackheath Eco-town is a proposal for just over 5000 houses to be built in the Rackheath
area, in Norfolk
, within a mile of The Broads
National Park. The controversial proposals have been featured on many programmes, including BBC One
's Politics Show, BBC One
's Look East
, ITV
's Anglia Tonight
and a BBC One
Norwich North By-Election Special.
, was constructed and used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force
. The airfield was closed at the end of war in 1945 and the land was returned to farming with most of the runways and taxiways being broken up for aggregate. Some buildings were retained and now form part of Rackheath Industrial Estate.
In the late 1990s, a large residential development was planned for the Rackheath and Salhouse area, but after public consultation, this did not progress any further.
The government launched a program to build a number of sustainable green new towns in 2007 and invited proposals. The plan was to build up to 200,000 new homes on government-owned land in the greenbelt by 2020. To allow the settlements to be built in this timescale the plans would not have to go through the standard planning process.
The proposal to develop the Rackheath site as an eco-community was presented by Building Partnerships, who represent the land owners, and Barratt Homes. The proposal was considered by personnel from the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at the University of East Anglia
, which comprises Carbon Connections and the Community Carbon Reduction Programme (CRed). Since the original proposal LCIC has offered technical support to the project.
Prior to their involvement with Rackheath, LCIC had investigated the eco-town proposal for Coltishall
and decided not to become involved.
In June 2009, the site was given the go-ahead from the Government, after receiving an A-grade listing, meaning the location would be generally suitable for an eco-town. The proposals would still have to go through the planning process, where they would meet the fierce opposition of many local residents and political parties.
to Stonehouse Road, Salhouse, and is approximately 3 square miles (7.8 km²) or nearly 8 square kilometres in size. The site is also within a mile of The Broads
National Park, where many forms of wildlife can be found, including the Norfolk Hawker Dragonfly, the Swallowtail Butterfly
and the Black Swan
.
runs to the west of the settlement and the proposed Norwich Northern Distributor Road
dual-carriageway (NDR) which would run to the south and link the settlement with the A47 road
to the east and the A140 road
/ Norwich International Airport
to the west.
A new rail station it proposed for the settlement on the Bittern Line
with an "aim" of offering a 15 minute service to Norwich during peak times.
by-election special in front of a live local audience during which Stewart White conducted a poll of the audience, with only 6 people in favour of the eco-town, and the rest of the audience against it. Campaigners also feel that their local parish councils and district councils have not taken their view on the situation into account and have just made decisions based on Government ideas, although there is no evidence to support this.
One person close to the Eco-towns scheme, who does not wish to be named, has said: ‘It goes something like this. Someone told the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG): “Why don’t you propose greenfield sites in the middle of nowhere and call them eco-towns. It will be a great way of beating the system and getting over regional planning guidance”.’ Another said, "We know this area is designated for housing and would urge all concerned to ensure that the development is low carbon and acts as an exemplar." In addition, the local authority in which Rackheath sits, Broadland District Council, believes that an exemplar development, that includes energy efficient homes and encourages sustainable living will provide a higher quality development for existing and future Rackheath residents.. Many campaigners and local residents have simply replied stating that they live in this area because of the peace, tranquillity and rural setting and building a development, however energy efficient, will decrease their quality of life. The campaigners also say that building a large housing estate on a greenfields site, even if it is energy efficient, will harm the environment more than if it was left as farmland.
The Town and Country Planning Association
has come under scrutiny, after it lobbied strongly for the eco-towns and also happens to include in its subscribed membership, many of the developers who are bidding for the scheme . As a result, the TCPA have also been accused of an alleged conflict of interest, since some of its leaders acted as consultants to eco-town bidders. Peter Hall, a TCPA member and distinguished planner, is known to be very uncomfortable that the eco-towns are to be fast-tracked through the planning system, especially as the TCPA are an organisation that have prided itself on the importance of local consultation.
Many campaigners, including people close to the eco-town scheme, have stated that many eco-towns are ‘dead in the water’, and that getting even single development of 10,000-plus homes anywhere in England without a consultation process is unlikely and wrong . On the other hand most people accept the need for more housing and believe developments should be low carbon.
A number of local opposition groups have been established to fight the development including SNUB
(Stop Norwich Urbanisation) and RETAG (Rackheath Eco Town Action Group). The issue has been highlighted in the Norwich North by-election
in July 2009 where the conservative candidate objected to the control exercised by central government and other candidates criticised the use of the 'eco' label. A petition was created on the Number 10 Downing Street
e-petition website.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England however felt that Rackheath was one of less damaging of the initial list of 15 sites Many campaigners share the view that just because Rackheath achieved the best rating out of the 10 sites chosen, doesn't mean that it is a good site. Other locations have been suggested by campaigners, such as Postwick, as they provide a better location with better transport links such as railway line, river, dual carriageway, a Park and Ride
depot as well as a large business park. There has however been no consultation of the people of Postwick.
The development is actually just to the north of a new proposed dual carriageway, the Norwich Northern Distributor Road
which has also been subject to sustained opposition which would link to new-town to Norwich International Airport
and the A47 road
.
The official website created by the sponsors of the project makes no mention of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road by name on their site. It does appear on 'masterplan' map, but this only shows it as a thin white line without a meaningful labels, leaves one of the junctions off the map and does not label the other junction. On the same map the A1151 to the west is labeled as Wroxham Road rather than as an A-road. The current road network may be suitable for the current volume of traffic, but problems and congestion may start to develop with the possible increase of a few thousand cars per day.
Local campaigners said that relying on a “brand new dual carriageway” (the NDR) for the scheme would make it unsustainable.
By contrast, Sandra Eastaugh, manager of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) said they were delighted with the decision and would bid for a share of the £60m local infrastructure fund to support the construction of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road which she said had an important part to play in improving the local public transport network and reducing dependence on private cars.
Norwich International Airport is not mentioned on the transport page of the official website. The only reference to it on the main website is in the employment section where it mentions that improved bus links will be provided to the expanding industrial area at the airport
to house these extra trains poses additional problems, as during peak hours all platforms are currently used.
In addition, the plans to the site show that both the existing and the new rail station, which is being built 300m away from the existing station, will remain open. As the trains cannot stop at both stations, changing between the two services would be difficult and confusing, as this would involve changing stations.
Rackheath
Rackheath is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, and is roughly outside of Norwich City Centre.It covers an area of and had a population of 1,551 in 625 households as of the 2001 census....
area, in Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, within a mile of The Broads
The Broads
The Broads are a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Broads, and some surrounding land were constituted as a special area with a level of protection similar to a UK National Park by The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act of 1988...
National Park. The controversial proposals have been featured on many programmes, including BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Politics Show, BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Look East
Look East
BBC Look East is the BBC's regional television news programme for the BBC East region, covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, north Buckinghamshire and southern Lincolnshire....
, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Anglia Tonight
Anglia Tonight
Anglia Tonight is a regional television news and current affairs programme, produced by ITV Anglia , serving the East of England and parts of the East Midlands and South East England. The programme is usually broadcast at 18:00 every weeknight, also including local sports news and local features of...
and a BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
Norwich North By-Election Special.
History
The site was used for agricultural purposes until 1943 when an airfield, RAF RackheathRAF Rackheath
RAF Rackheath is a former World War II RAF station airfield in England . The field is located 5 miles NE of Norwich in Norfolk between Rackheath and Salhouse.-USAAF use:...
, was constructed and used by the United States Army Air Force Eighth Air Force
Eighth Air Force
The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command . It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana....
. The airfield was closed at the end of war in 1945 and the land was returned to farming with most of the runways and taxiways being broken up for aggregate. Some buildings were retained and now form part of Rackheath Industrial Estate.
In the late 1990s, a large residential development was planned for the Rackheath and Salhouse area, but after public consultation, this did not progress any further.
The government launched a program to build a number of sustainable green new towns in 2007 and invited proposals. The plan was to build up to 200,000 new homes on government-owned land in the greenbelt by 2020. To allow the settlements to be built in this timescale the plans would not have to go through the standard planning process.
The proposal to develop the Rackheath site as an eco-community was presented by Building Partnerships, who represent the land owners, and Barratt Homes. The proposal was considered by personnel from the Low Carbon Innovation Centre at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
, which comprises Carbon Connections and the Community Carbon Reduction Programme (CRed). Since the original proposal LCIC has offered technical support to the project.
Prior to their involvement with Rackheath, LCIC had investigated the eco-town proposal for Coltishall
Coltishall
Coltishall is a village on the River Bure, west of Wroxham, in the English county of Norfolk, within the Norfolk Broads.Coltishall was a place of note even when the Domesday Book was compiled. For 250 years it was a centre of the malting industry...
and decided not to become involved.
In June 2009, the site was given the go-ahead from the Government, after receiving an A-grade listing, meaning the location would be generally suitable for an eco-town. The proposals would still have to go through the planning process, where they would meet the fierce opposition of many local residents and political parties.
Location
The plans consist of over 4000 houses to be built in the Rackheath area. . The proposed area stretches from the Rackheath Industrial Estate, past Salhouse railway stationSalhouse railway station
Salhouse is a railway station serving the village of Salhouse in the English county of Norfolk. The station is served by local services operated by National Express East Anglia on the Bittern Line, north east of Norwich towards Cromer and Sheringham....
to Stonehouse Road, Salhouse, and is approximately 3 square miles (7.8 km²) or nearly 8 square kilometres in size. The site is also within a mile of The Broads
The Broads
The Broads are a network of mostly navigable rivers and lakes in the English counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The Broads, and some surrounding land were constituted as a special area with a level of protection similar to a UK National Park by The Norfolk and Suffolk Broads Act of 1988...
National Park, where many forms of wildlife can be found, including the Norfolk Hawker Dragonfly, the Swallowtail Butterfly
Swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
and the Black Swan
Black Swan
The Black Swan is a large waterbird, a species of swan, which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. The species was hunted to extinction in New Zealand, but later reintroduced. Within Australia they are nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic...
.
Transport
The development will be well connected to the road network. The A1151 roadA1151 road
The A1151 is an A road, running entirely in the English county of Norfolk, in the East Anglia region of England. The road runs from the city of Norwich, and terminates at a junction with the A149, near Smallburgh.-Route:...
runs to the west of the settlement and the proposed Norwich Northern Distributor Road
Norwich Northern Distributor Road
The Norwich Northern Distributor Road is a proposed 8.7 mile dual-carriageway linking the A47 to the south east of the city to the proposed Rackheath Eco-town and to Norwich International Airport to the north of Norwich...
dual-carriageway (NDR) which would run to the south and link the settlement with the A47 road
A47 road
The A47 is a trunk road in England originally linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114.-Route:...
to the east and the A140 road
A140 road
The A140 is an 'A-class' road in Norfolk and Suffolk, East Anglia, England partly following the route of the Roman Pye Road. It runs from the A14 near Needham Market to the A149 south of Cromer. It is of primary status for the entirety of its route. It is approximately 56 miles in length...
/ Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport , also known as Norwich Airport, is an airport in the City of Norwich within Norfolk, England north of the city centre and on the edge of the city's suburbs....
to the west.
A new rail station it proposed for the settlement on the Bittern Line
Bittern Line
The Bittern Line is a railway line from Norwich to Cromer then Sheringham in Norfolk, England. It is one of the most scenic in the East of England traversing the Norfolk Broads on its route to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the North Norfolk Coast. The line is part of the Network Rail...
with an "aim" of offering a 15 minute service to Norwich during peak times.
Lack of democratic process
Professor David Lock claimed that ministers were planning to "crash the planning process” to build the eco-towns. In a poll conducted by Rackheath parish council, 10% of the 2000 residents contacted responded, with 71% of them against an ecotown. Rackheath featured on a Look EastLook East
BBC Look East is the BBC's regional television news programme for the BBC East region, covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, north Buckinghamshire and southern Lincolnshire....
by-election special in front of a live local audience during which Stewart White conducted a poll of the audience, with only 6 people in favour of the eco-town, and the rest of the audience against it. Campaigners also feel that their local parish councils and district councils have not taken their view on the situation into account and have just made decisions based on Government ideas, although there is no evidence to support this.
One person close to the Eco-towns scheme, who does not wish to be named, has said: ‘It goes something like this. Someone told the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG): “Why don’t you propose greenfield sites in the middle of nowhere and call them eco-towns. It will be a great way of beating the system and getting over regional planning guidance”.’ Another said, "We know this area is designated for housing and would urge all concerned to ensure that the development is low carbon and acts as an exemplar." In addition, the local authority in which Rackheath sits, Broadland District Council, believes that an exemplar development, that includes energy efficient homes and encourages sustainable living will provide a higher quality development for existing and future Rackheath residents.. Many campaigners and local residents have simply replied stating that they live in this area because of the peace, tranquillity and rural setting and building a development, however energy efficient, will decrease their quality of life. The campaigners also say that building a large housing estate on a greenfields site, even if it is energy efficient, will harm the environment more than if it was left as farmland.
The Town and Country Planning Association
Town and Country Planning Association
The Town and Country Planning Association is England's oldest environmental charity. It was founded as the Garden Cities Association in 1899 by Ebenezer Howard, initially to promote the development of Garden Cities...
has come under scrutiny, after it lobbied strongly for the eco-towns and also happens to include in its subscribed membership, many of the developers who are bidding for the scheme . As a result, the TCPA have also been accused of an alleged conflict of interest, since some of its leaders acted as consultants to eco-town bidders. Peter Hall, a TCPA member and distinguished planner, is known to be very uncomfortable that the eco-towns are to be fast-tracked through the planning system, especially as the TCPA are an organisation that have prided itself on the importance of local consultation.
Many campaigners, including people close to the eco-town scheme, have stated that many eco-towns are ‘dead in the water’, and that getting even single development of 10,000-plus homes anywhere in England without a consultation process is unlikely and wrong . On the other hand most people accept the need for more housing and believe developments should be low carbon.
A number of local opposition groups have been established to fight the development including SNUB
SNUB
SNUB or Stop Norwich UrBanisation is a non-profit organisation based around Norwich, United Kingdom, whose aim is to stop the urbanisation of Norwich and its surrounding villages, such as Rackheath, Salhouse, Wroxham and Postwick....
(Stop Norwich Urbanisation) and RETAG (Rackheath Eco Town Action Group). The issue has been highlighted in the Norwich North by-election
Norwich North by-election, 2009
The 2009 Norwich North by-election was a by-election for the United Kingdom Parliament's House of Commons constituency of Norwich North. The by-election took place due to the resignation of Ian Gibson after being banned from standing as a Labour candidate for the next general election...
in July 2009 where the conservative candidate objected to the control exercised by central government and other candidates criticised the use of the 'eco' label. A petition was created on the Number 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
e-petition website.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England however felt that Rackheath was one of less damaging of the initial list of 15 sites Many campaigners share the view that just because Rackheath achieved the best rating out of the 10 sites chosen, doesn't mean that it is a good site. Other locations have been suggested by campaigners, such as Postwick, as they provide a better location with better transport links such as railway line, river, dual carriageway, a Park and Ride
Park and ride
Park and ride facilities are car parks with connections to public transport that allow commuters and other people wishing to travel into city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, rail system , or carpool for the rest of their trip...
depot as well as a large business park. There has however been no consultation of the people of Postwick.
Car-dependent transport
The transport page of the official Rackheath eco-town website highlights the new railway station, the proposed cycle routes and the bus gates and other initiatives to reduce car dependency. It also notes that the government requirement to reduce single occupancy car-based transport by 50% would be a challenge.The development is actually just to the north of a new proposed dual carriageway, the Norwich Northern Distributor Road
Norwich Northern Distributor Road
The Norwich Northern Distributor Road is a proposed 8.7 mile dual-carriageway linking the A47 to the south east of the city to the proposed Rackheath Eco-town and to Norwich International Airport to the north of Norwich...
which has also been subject to sustained opposition which would link to new-town to Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport
Norwich International Airport , also known as Norwich Airport, is an airport in the City of Norwich within Norfolk, England north of the city centre and on the edge of the city's suburbs....
and the A47 road
A47 road
The A47 is a trunk road in England originally linking Birmingham to Great Yarmouth. Most of the section between Birmingham and Nuneaton is now classified as the B4114.-Route:...
.
The official website created by the sponsors of the project makes no mention of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road by name on their site. It does appear on 'masterplan' map, but this only shows it as a thin white line without a meaningful labels, leaves one of the junctions off the map and does not label the other junction. On the same map the A1151 to the west is labeled as Wroxham Road rather than as an A-road. The current road network may be suitable for the current volume of traffic, but problems and congestion may start to develop with the possible increase of a few thousand cars per day.
Local campaigners said that relying on a “brand new dual carriageway” (the NDR) for the scheme would make it unsustainable.
By contrast, Sandra Eastaugh, manager of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) said they were delighted with the decision and would bid for a share of the £60m local infrastructure fund to support the construction of the Norwich Northern Distributor Road which she said had an important part to play in improving the local public transport network and reducing dependence on private cars.
Norwich International Airport is not mentioned on the transport page of the official website. The only reference to it on the main website is in the employment section where it mentions that improved bus links will be provided to the expanding industrial area at the airport
Rail Improvements
The current rail service does not allow room for an extra station to be added to the line, due to the length of single track along the line and the current signalling network. The current service at Salhouse is only hourly during peak hours and two-hourly during off-peak hours, as not all trains are able to stop due to these problems. Fitting additional trains to this very tight network would not be possible without disrupting the entire network, as the length of the service would increase, missing the connections to the mainline services. This would mean that a new 15-minute shuttle service between Norwich and Rackheath would have to be created; however, this would interrupt the main service and cause additional platforming problems. Finding extra trains to run this service and finding extra space on the platforms at Norwich railway stationNorwich railway station
Norwich is a railway station serving the city of Norwich in the English county of Norfolk. The station is the northern terminus of the Great Eastern Main Line from London Liverpool Street. It is also the terminus of railway lines from Ely, Sheringham, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.-History:At one...
to house these extra trains poses additional problems, as during peak hours all platforms are currently used.
In addition, the plans to the site show that both the existing and the new rail station, which is being built 300m away from the existing station, will remain open. As the trains cannot stop at both stations, changing between the two services would be difficult and confusing, as this would involve changing stations.