The Breckland Council Planning Committee met on 2 September 2025, and primarily dealt with planning applications. A proposal for five new dwellings off West Carr Road in Great Ellingham was refused, while a decision on a self-build dwelling and garage on Banham Road in Kenninghall was deferred.

Here's a breakdown of the key discussions:

Local Plan Update

Simon Wood, the Director of Planning & Building Control, updated the committee on the Local Plan. He noted that government changes to standardised methodology in December 2024 had increased Breckland's housing numbers to 903 dwellings per year, and a recent review had further increased this to 920. This figure is reviewed annually, and will be fixed once the Regulation 19 document¹ is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate, expected in the last quarter of 2026.

Councillor Robert Kybird asked if the increase was due to reallocation or an increase in the national total. Mr Wood clarified that the 1.5 million national housing number remained, but the change was due to affordability changes within Breckland itself. He expressed concern about the logic of annual number changes, saying that significant changes would require finding more sites and further consultation. He also noted that housing values were starting to rise.

Land off West Carr Road, Great Ellingham

The committee considered a report by Barbara Greengrass, Principal Development Management Planner, regarding an application for the construction of five dwellings off West Carr Road in Great Ellingham. Councillor Sarah Suggitt, a Ward Representative, submitted a written statement in support of the application, and Olly Jones from Limitless Developments (Norfolk) Ltd, and Councillor Ashley Broughton of Gt Ellingham Parish Council spoke in support of the application.

The committee voted to refuse the application, going along with the officer's recommendation.

The reasons for refusal included:

• Conflict with settlement boundary policies: The site is outside the defined settlement boundary and not immediately adjacent to it, conflicting with policies GEN01, GEN03, GEN05 and HOU03 of the Breckland Local Plan.
• Unsustainable location: The site's remoteness from local services and lack of safe pedestrian routes would lead to a high reliance on cars, conflicting with policies GEN02, TR01 and TR02 of the Breckland Local Plan.
• Harm to landscape character: The development would introduce an unwarranted hard urbanising intrusion into the landscape, conflicting with policies GEN02, GEN05, COM01 and ENV05 of the Breckland Local Plan.
• Lack of mitigation for recreational impact: No agreement was in place to mitigate the recreational impact on protected Habitat sites across Norfolk, conflicting with policy ENV02 of the Breckland Local Plan and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017².

Land at Banham Road, Kenninghall

The committee was scheduled to consider a report by Lucy Gaffer, a Case Officer, regarding the erection of a new self-build dwelling and detached double garage on Banham Road in Kenninghall. However, the item was deferred as further information was awaited.

Applications Determined by the Director of Planning & Building Control

The committee noted a schedule of planning applications that had been determined by the Director of Planning & Building Control.

Appeals Summary

The committee noted an appeals summary, including the dismissal of an appeal relating to an outline application for a self-build dwelling at Springfield, The Street, Great Hockham.