Wymondham local plan: 29 sites put forward by owners

Landowners and developers have put 29 sites forward under Wymondham for the next Greater Norwich Local Plan. Together they cover 1,396 hectares, and all but two are greenfield.

The list is now public. The three Greater Norwich councils published a register of every site received in their call for sites alongside the scoping consultation that opened on 17 August.

Nothing has been chosen. More on that below, because it matters.

The seven biggest

The register bands each site by scale. Seven of the Wymondham entries are “Strategic 500+ units”, the largest band there is. In order of size, from the call for sites register:

• 516.04 ha, land at Silfield, Wymondham (housing, employment and other uses)
• 423.86 ha, described in the register as a “major new settlement site” off Stanfield Road and Wymondham Road at Hethel, about three miles east of the town
• 62.63 ha, land at North East Wymondham
• 60.65 ha, Norwich Common via Briggs Mead and Albini Way, with secondary access from Melton Road
• 52.40 ha, land north of Tuttles Lane East
• 44.90 ha, land at London Road
• 39.88 ha, land south of Norwich Common

Below those sit 12 sites in the “Major 50-499 units” band. The larger ones are:

• 26.15 ha and 14.71 ha on Wymondham Road at Wramplingham
• 25.73 ha east and west of Lower Spinks Lane
• 22.72 ha, 18.67 ha and 9.22 ha on Wramplingham Road
• 19.58 ha off Suton Lane
• 14.61 ha on Melton Road
• 14.14 ha at Johnsons Farm

Nine more sites are in the “Medium 10-49” band. One is offered for non-housing use only.

The two smallest are the only brownfield entries: Standleys Yard on Strayground Lane at 0.50 ha, and 0.42 ha fronting Tuttles Lane East.

Not every site is in the town. The register files all 29 under the Wymondham parish heading, but several give addresses at Wramplingham, about three miles north of the town, and the largest but one is at Hethel.

Read the caveat before you read the map

The councils are blunt about what this register is not. Their own introduction says the sites “are presented for information only at this stage and no assessment has been made of their suitability”, and adds: “The promotion of a site at this stage does not mean that it will be allocated in the new Local Plan.”

Two more points from the same page:

• 479 sites were received across the whole of Greater Norwich, in two windows, February to March and June to July 2026
• the assessment of those sites “will take place over the coming months”, and the result goes to a public consultation in June and July 2027

So this is not the moment to object to a field. That moment is next summer. What is open now is a different question.

What is actually open, and until when

The scoping consultation runs to 28 September 2026. It asks about the shape of the plan rather than its contents: the baseline data, the emerging vision and objectives, and a proposed engagement strategy for later stages.

South Norfolk describes it as “primarily intended for stakeholders to respond to”, while saying comments “from anyone with an interest in the GNLP area are welcome”. It is being run digital first, on the councils’ online consultation platform. The plan team can be reached at gnlp@norfolk.gov.uk or on 01603 306603.

Why the councils are doing this at all

The current Greater Norwich Local Plan was adopted in March 2024. Replacing it this soon comes down to a change in the national sums.

The Notice to Commence Plan Making report, taken by South Norfolk’s Communities, Housing and Planning Policy Development Panel on 8 April 2026, sets out the position:

• the government’s new standard method raises local housing need for Greater Norwich to around 2,590 homes a year
• the previous method produced approximately 1,930 homes a year
• the housing requirement in the adopted 2024 plan is 78% of the most recent need figure

That 78% has a consequence. Because it falls below 80%, a 20% buffer applies from 1 July 2026, so the councils must show a six-year housing land supply rather than five years. The report says Greater Norwich “does not have a five-year housing land supply”, largely because of nutrient neutrality, and warns this “exposes Greater Norwich to speculative applications on unallocated locations”.

Daniel Elmer, leader of South Norfolk Council and chair of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership, said an up to date plan “will be critical in our ability to defend against unsustainable, speculative housing applications”, and that it “places the tools for growth directly in the hands of our local communities”.

The same April report says starting now “provides the ideal opportunity for the Greater Norwich authorities to consider allocation of a site or sites for new settlements”, and calls a new settlement “an important legacy for the future of Greater Norwich”. Four months later, a 423.86 ha site describing itself as a major new settlement is in the register under Wymondham.

The dates

The councils’ published timetable, released as open data by Norwich City Council, gives firm dates:

• 30 June 2026: notice to commence and the timetable itself published
• 17 August to 28 September 2026: scoping consultation
• 30 October 2026: Gateway 1 self-assessment, which starts a 30 month statutory clock
• 8 June to 20 July 2027: consultation on plan content and evidence, “including vision and site assessment work”
• 2 November 2027: Gateway 2, advice sought from the Planning Inspectorate
• 3 April to 29 May 2028: consultation on the proposed plan
• 6 September 2028: Gateway 3
• 19 October 2028: submitted for examination
• 30 April 2029: adoption, subject to the inspector’s conclusions

What it means for you

• A site in the register is an offer, not a decision. Twenty-nine sites under Wymondham does not mean 29 developments. Most will not be allocated.
• Diarise June 2027. That is the consultation where the site assessments are published and residents can respond to individual sites. It is the one that decides where building goes.
• This month’s consultation is worth a response anyway. The vision, objectives and evidence base agreed now set the frame for 2027. It closes on 28 September.
• Watch speculative applications meanwhile. Until the councils can show a six-year land supply, unallocated land is easier to win on appeal. Live cases are on our Wymondham planning news page.
• The register is worth ten minutes of your own time. It is searchable by parish, and each entry gives the address, the area, the proposed use and whether the land is greenfield.
• If you want the money context, our Wymondham and South Norfolk house prices page tracks the Land Registry figures each month.