Public comments are now being invited on Norfolk County Council’s draft vision to develop the former RAF Coltishall site which envisages the creation of hundreds of jobs, new housing for local people and new tourism opportunities.
The County Council is launching a public consultation today (Wednesday 24 July) to gather views on its new ‘Development Vision’ for the former airbase which outlines strategies for a number of key themes such as employment, enterprise & investment, accessibility, heritage and green infrastructure.
The consultation asks for feedback on the proposed plans by September – and invites people to make suggestions on what further opportunities should be considered.
The Vision includes concept maps and illustrations of what the site might look like if plans come to fruition over a number of years and details how the site’s important site’s rich heritage could be brought back to life.
George Nobbs, Norfolk County Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said: “This is one of the most exciting development projects that the County Council has ever taken on. RAF Coltishall, as it used to be known, is held in great affection by those who served there, by local residents and by the people of Norfolk as a whole. That’s why I and my colleagues are determined to treat the site with the utmost respect.
“This is not a collection of industrial units or a site for intensive development. Our aim is to make it a living breathing part of the local community that everyone involved can be very proud of. RAF Coltishall deserves no less.”
Possible opportunities to generate income which include reusing a number of the existing buildings for commercial use, returning some of the land for agriculture, creation of a large scale solar farm and areas for camping and caravanning with links potential links to the Bure Valley Railway. Providing new locations for business, some housing and the possibility of removing surplus hard standing areas for aggregate are also included.
The Council anticipates that the main runway would be retained and is clear that commercial aviation will not feature in its future plans. Proposed plans to extract some aggregate would be mainly from the Cold War runway extensions and a number of options are being explored such as the route the aggregate lorries could take to minimise disruption to surrounding villages, if planning permission is granted.
There are a number of accessibility proposals which the County Council intends to implement immediately which include making Lamas Road an access only HGV restriction through Badersfield and having a similar access weight restriction on The Faistead. There are other enhancements to access the Authority wishes to deliver which includes opening up Piggery Lane on the site to link it to community woodland trails (and possibly the road network beyond) as well as moving the main entrance to the base slightly to the east.
In response to views already submitted since Norfolk County Council bought the site some alternative regeneration options for different parts of the site have been included and the Authority welcomes feedback to further help shape its plans.
Some of the new ideas open for discussion include:
• An interpretation of the settlement of Batley Green, Scottow, which was lost when the RAF moved onto the land
• Potential for the main airfield area to be used for large scale open air events
• Private flying club, and/or Aero Homes
• Sustainable holiday park
At last night’s (Tuesday 23 July) Community Liaison Reference Group meeting (CLRG), members of the group had an early opportunity to view and feedback on the County Council’s ideas and earlier in the day members of the County Council’s Environment, Transport and Development Scrutiny Panel were also updated by officers.
Residents have until Tuesday 17 September to fill in the consultation online. The feedback received will be used to help form the finalised ‘Development Vision’ which will be adopted this autumn following further consideration by County Councillors. It is hoped that the public consultation will also be supported by a number of public exhibitions held in villages close to the former base. In addition, the Development Vision will be on display for viewing only from today until 17 September. The boards will be available to see in the site’s Guardhouse (near the entrance) Monday to Saturday between 10am and 2pm.
