South Norfolk's own environmental officer has objected to the replacement allotments, over a backfilled pit on the site. Comments close on 29 September.

South Norfolk Council’s own environmental quality officer has objected to Wymondham Town Council’s plan for replacement allotments off Tuttles Lane West.

The objection is on the file for application 2026/2374, the town council’s scheme for 190 plots to replace the allotments lost at Chapel Lane. Public comments close on Tuesday 29 September.

It is a holding objection rather than a recommendation to refuse. It stands until the council gets information it says is missing.

What the officer asked for

Alex Grimmer, of the council’s Environmental Quality Team, wrote to development management on 14 September under reference 26/16361/EPMM50. He asked three questions:

  • Will there be external lights on the site? If so, he wants plans and a specification.
  • Will there be toilets on site? If so, how will the waste be dealt with, mains sewer or composting toilet?
  • Historic maps show a backfilled pit on the site, so he wants a contaminated land assessment of the potential for contamination.

His conclusion is one sentence. “Until the above has been provided and reviewed, I object to the application.”

The case officer has written to the town council’s agent

Eight days later the application got a case officer, and he acted on it. Glen Beaumont, the council’s Area Planning Manager for major applications, emailed the town council’s agent at 16:49 on 22 September.

He set out what he wanted dealt with:

  • Lighting and toilets. Because no details were submitted, he has concluded that neither is proposed, and he asked for confirmation either way.
  • The contaminated land assessment. He described the pit as a relatively small area, so he expects “a fairly targeted assessment”, but said it is a matter the council has to assess.
  • Figures 1 and 2 in the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, which he said are incorrect. He put it down to “a copying and pasting error” and asked the agent to review the rest of the document.

He warned that more requests may follow, depending on what other consultees say.

A resident spotted the survey error first

The map error in the ecological appraisal was not found by the council. It was raised by a member of the public on 17 September, five days before the case officer wrote to the agent.

That commenter neither objected nor supported. They wrote that the OS map and satellite image in the appraisal are incorrect, and added: “Hopefully, the content of the report is reliable.”

The postbag is small, and it is mostly about the access road

The council’s comments tab records 33 people consulted, three comments received, no objections and two in support. A fourth resident letter, sent by email on 14 September, sits on the documents tab.

Nobody has objected. But two residents, writing separately, make the same argument about how people will drive in.

They say the proposed new entrance would add a third junction to Tuttles Lane West in a short stretch of road, alongside the existing Melton Road junction and Deep Lane. Their points:

  • Tuttles Lane West has a 40mph limit, carries buses, and is regularly used by agricultural vehicles.
  • The Melton Road junction is busy and effectively acts as a crossroads.
  • Deep Lane is already a maintained track used by vehicles and by walkers, with no crossing facility.
  • Both argue the existing Deep Lane access should be improved and used, rather than a new parallel track cut through the hedge.

One of the two also calls the 44-space car park excessive, and says a council promoting sustainable and active travel should reconsider it. They suggest a smaller car park at the southern end of the site instead.

The two supporting letters come from people who want the plots. One writes as a former Chapel Lane plot holder, pointing to the waiting list and to Wymondham’s growth in recent years.

The town council was consulted on its own application

There is one document on the file that reads oddly, and it is not an error.

Wymondham Town Council is the applicant. It is also the parish council, so the district council consulted it as a statutory consultee. On 16 September it replied, formally, as a consultee to itself:

Wymondham Town Council is the applicant for this planning application and therefore has a direct interest in the proposal. The Council’s position and supporting justification are set out within the planning application and accompanying documents.

Wymondham allotments application 2026/2374: the key dates A timeline of application 2026/2374 for 190 allotment plots north of Tuttles Lane West, Wymondham. On 13 August 2026 the application was submitted. On 8 September the council sent consultation letters, asking for replies by 29 September. On 14 September the council's Environmental Quality Team objected pending information on lighting, toilets and a backfilled pit. On 17 September the press advertisement ran, nine days into the consultation. On 22 September the case officer emailed the agent asking for the missing information. Public comments close on 29 September. The council's target decision date is 3 December 2026. Application 2026/2374: how it has run 190 allotment plots on land north of Tuttles Lane West, Wymondham. Applicant: Wymondham Town Council. 13 August 2026 Application submitted, with 34 documents now on the file 8 September Consultation letters sent, replies asked for by 29 September 14 September Environmental Quality objects: lighting, toilets and a backfilled pit 22 September Case officer emails the agent asking for the missing information 29 September Public comments close 3 December 2026 The council's target date for a decision Source: South Norfolk Council planning register, application 2026/2374, read 24 September 2026. Graphic by Wymondham News.
The application's key dates, taken from the council's own planning file. Graphic by Wymondham News.

Why the town is doing this at all

Wymondham lost its Chapel Lane allotments because Anglian Water reclaimed the land for upgrades at the Wymondham Water Recycling Centre.

The town council’s replacement site is 3.3 hectares of land north of Tuttles Lane West, with 190 plots proposed, 44 parking spaces and four accessible bays, about 285 metres of new native hedge and roughly 4,750 square metres of species-rich meadow.

One thing has still not been fixed since we first reported this in August. The council’s own documents disagree on how many plot holders were displaced from Chapel Lane. The site selection statement says 131. The planning justification statement says 137. Neither has been corrected. The waiting list is put at around 60 households.

What it means for you

  • If you want to comment, you have until Tuesday 29 September. Comments go in through the application page on the council’s planning register, under reference 2026/2374.
  • An objection from a council officer is not a refusal. It is a request for information with an objection attached until the information arrives. If the town council supplies lighting, drainage and contamination details, it can be withdrawn.
  • The thing residents are actually arguing about is the access, not the allotments. Nobody who has written in opposes the plots themselves.
  • The decision is not imminent. The council’s target date is 3 December 2026, and the missing reports have to be produced and assessed first.

For more on how the district handles applications, see our Wymondham planning news page. Our bin collection days page covers the garden waste and recycling services run alongside them.