Description
This vacant former shoe factory site is 3.43 hectares in size.
The site lies between the Hall Road retail area and an employment area including depots, builders’ merchants and car sales on Hall Road and Bessemer Road. Tuckswood housing estate is to the west of the site, set back from Hall Road. The junction of Hall Road and Ipswich Road is to the south-west and the junction of Hall Road and the outer ring road to the north. The site is approximately 1.5 miles from the A47 Norwich southern by-pass.
Explanatory text
Development presents the opportunity to regenerate the Hall Road area to provide a new district centre to meet the everyday shopping needs of the south of Norwich with retailing, employment and community facilities. This is promoted in policy 19 of the JCS.
It is important both that the retailing part of the development does not consist only of a supermarket and does not reduce the attractiveness of the city centre for retailing. Therefore a variety of retail units and A1 uses are required, which might include uses such as cafes, banks and takeaways. Since the main function of a district centre is to meet everyday shopping needs, the amount of retailing of “Comparison goods,” such as clothes stores, will be limited. As promoted by policy 11 of the JCS, the main focus for comparison goods shopping should remain in the city centre.
Employment development would be most suitable to the east of the site to integrate with the existing employment area focussed on Bessemer Road. Any residential development on the site will have to be carefully designed to ensure that it provides an attractive living environment for future residents, including the provision of open space.
The development will have to provide a new access to Hall Road or could be accessed from Sandy Lane. It must be designed to be easily accessible on foot and by bicycle, providing pedestrian crossings and links across the site to the strategic cycle network (the Outer Circuit (purple) pedalway and the Lakenham Way). The overall design of the development must not be dominated by car parking.
Redevelopment will require demolition of existing buildings. Design must take account of trees with preservation orders on site and make best use of the sloping site to take account of the long views to and from the site from the Yare Valley. Landscaping of the site is very important as it is adjacent to Tuckswood housing estate to the west, with Hall Road currently well landscaped to separate the housing from the industrial zone to the east.
Since the development site is over 1 hectare in size, a flood risk assessment and appropriate flood mitigation measures are required. The site’s former industrial uses mean that a contamination assessment and appropriate mitigation will also be required.
Deliverability
There is a reasonable prospect that the site will be delivered during the plan period. Planning permission has been granted for a new district centre, including retail, commercial, leisure and community uses.
POLICY R3: Hall Road District Centre – district centre development
The Hall Road site (3.43 hectares) is allocated for comprehensive redevelopment for a new district centre with a mix of uses.
Development will include:
- retailing, with an anchor food store (maximum 4,000 square metre gross internal area, with comparison goods floorspace limited to 500 square metres net);
- a minimum of 6 other units in A1, A2, A3 or A5 use (comparison retail goods units shall be limited to 300 square metres net each);
- employment uses focused on the Bessemer Road frontage;
- community uses.
Housing may also be provided if it can be well integrated into the development to provide an attractive living environment with open space to serve residents.
Pedestrian and cycle routes across the site and crossings on neighbouring main roads will be required as appropriate. The overall design of the development must not be dominated by car parking.
Development will be designed to have regard to existing trees on the site.
