Policy COM1: Community Facilities and Local Services
Policy COM1: Community Facilities and Local Services
- The Neighbourhood Plan identifies the following specific community facilities and/or local services, as shown on the Policies Maps, as being particularly important assets for the community:
- Horsford C of E Primary School Holt Road Site
- Horsford C of E Primary School Mill Lane Site
- Horsford Village Hall
- Horsford Recreation Ground
- Horsford Church Room
- All Saints Church, Horsford
- Hussainy Community Centre
- Scout Hut
- Horsford Bowls Club
- Horsford Surgery
- Allotments (Corner Lane)
- The Nest
- The Horsford Cricket Club
- Proposals involving the loss of a community facility or local service will not be supported unless it has been demonstrated that the use is no longer viable and cannot be made viable; or plans for its replacement are included within the proposal. In this respect, proposals to change the use of a part of a facility that is shown to be surplus to requirements will be supported, provided the change will not undermine the viability of the primary community use.
- Any proposal to extend and enhance any of the above listed community facilities and services will be supported. The merging of the two Horsford Primary School sites onto one site will also be supported. Any new community meeting space or local service should have appropriate parking and drop-off/collection provision for motorised (including electric cars) and non-motorised users including provision for disabled access, complementing existing provision.
View Horsford Community Facilities and Local Services on the Policy Map
- Horsford is a growing community spread mostly to the North of the village near to the forests. Horsford residents have the opportunity to enjoy a full community life. There are a range of active community groups, community meeting spaces and a valued primary school. In various surveys residents have indicated that the sense of community and friendliness in Horsford came out as important to them. Likewise, maintaining an active, inclusive and safe community is important to residents who have lived in Horsford for many years, and also for those who are newer to the area. The Policy therefore identifies these facilities and services and shows their location on the Policies Map to protect them from unnecessary loss.
- 15. It is recognised that the planning system classifies each of these facilities and services differently. Churches and schools fall within a use class titled Class F1, the surgery within Class E subcategory e), and the remaining facilities within Class F2. Planning permission is not always needed for changing the use from one Class to another, particularly for uses that fall within Class E.
- 16. The provisions of Policy CSU2 of the Broadland Development Management DPD, which allows for exceptional circumstances for changing the use of a community facility or local service will continue to apply alongside the provisions of this policy, until such a time that it is replaced, either by national development management policies, or a future review of the DPD and/or this Neighbourhood Plan.
- 17. On occasions, some facilities will struggle, but this will more often be related to the economic viability of the use, rather than the limitations of the premises, land or location. As finding new land for such uses is often difficult, it is important that established land is retained in that use, even if the current occupier is not viable. The policy, in its Clause B, therefore, also allows for a partial change of use of a facility if this is intended to help secure its longer-term viability. This may be an important way of putting to economic use floorspace that is no longer needed, but which can make a financial contribution to sustaining the community facility. However, such changes must be shown not to undermine the community functions of the use.
- 18. It may also be possible, given the variety of active community groups and a successful local split-site school, that some facilities will need to expand to either improve their existing services or expand their activities. Indeed, Norfolk County Council (NCC), as the education authority, has already confirmed that any new development in Horsford is likely to add additional pressure into both schools operating as the primary and impact the existing early years provision in the area. It is also still an aspiration for the Primary School to be located on one site. Those who responded to the project’s consultations also continued to feel strongly that there was a need to expand health care provision. Whilst the Surgery is aware of the residents’ concerns about length of wait times for a doctor’s appointment, there is a known shortage of GPs all over the UK. The Horsford Practice site has the potential to use three more consulting rooms once Drayton practice has been extended. (This work has now been completed.)
- The policy, in its Clause C, therefore, supports the expansion of community facilities and local services including the merging of the two schools onto one site, subject to specific provisions relating to the overarching aim of the Horsford Transport Masterplan and complementing existing community facility and local service provision. The Policy doesn’t make provision for supporting new sporting and recreation facilities as Policy SS2 makes provision for this and existing national and strategic policies already support this.
