Weston Homes set for 1,100-home Anglia Square approval

Norwich City Council is set to approve Weston Homes’ plans for the 12-acre redevelopment of Anglia Square site in Norwich. The Grounded in Norwich scheme will deliver up to 1,100 new homes. The initial phase comprises 279 homes for market sale, 58 for social rent and 16 shared-ownership properties. A further 747 homes are included in the plans, with the final residential mix to be determined through subsequent reserved matters applications. The proposed application includes 86,111 sq ft of non-residential floorspace in addition to a community hub, hall, space for a range of businesses, public toilets and accessible Changing Places facility. There will be up to 450 car parking spaces, 1,888 cycle bays, a cycle path and ecological features contributing to an 85% biodiversity net gain. As part of the consent, Weston Homes will take over ownership of the Anglia Square site from Columbia Threadneedle. Weston Homes anticipates the phased redevelopment will begin in the next few months. It is Weston Homes’ second attempt at the redevelopment of Anglia Square. The developer’s previous approval for the site was called in in 2018 by then secretary of state James Brokenshire, who overturned the local planning consent. Weston Homes “returned to the drawing board” and sought to design a new scheme from scratch, addressing the key issues raised by Brokenshire and undertaking extensive local community and key stakeholder consultation. There is now a 35% reduction in the overall floorspace of the development, the tallest building in the new scheme is eight storeys, 12 storeys less than the original 20-storey tower, and 52% of the residential dwellings are dual aspect, compared with 30% previously. Bob Weston, chairman and managing director of Weston Homes says: “We have learnt so much from this project, through going back to the drawing board, consulting locally and designing a domestic-scale scheme with features led by the aspirations of the people of Norwich rather than Weston Homes.” To send feedback, e-mail akanksha.soni@eg.co.uk or tweet @AkankshaEG or @EGPropertyNews Image © Weston Homes View other planning applications in Norwich >> See which agents are doing the most deals in Norwich >>