A lack of vision?

The scandal is that only a fraction of these sites are being built on while councils are still allocating even more green field sites for development.

The Government has now issued even higher targets, which, when added to existing allocations, will see the population in Norfolk rise by over 40%: equivalent to the building of another Greater Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn and Thetford.

These targets are not based on known market demand, but on Government assessments, which make a worrying number of assumptions, including that the current level of immigration will be maintained.

Development on this scale poses the greatest possible threats –

• Large tracts of countryside and valuable agricultural land will be lost
• boundaries between settlements will become blurred and an increasing number of towns and villages will see their historic character swamped
• traffic congestion will increase enormously leading to higher levels of air pollution.
• the tranquillity and attractiveness of much of our landscape will be severely degraded

Agriculture must be protected for the good of Britain not just Norfolk. We must take the opportunity to ensure that we can invest in our land, which does much more than just provide food – it helps alleviate flooding, it provides opportunities for local rural housing and jobs, it is vital for our environment, water, flora and fauna, as well as much leisure, tourism and educational activity. It is what has shaped our landscape.

We think it makes good sense to balance our economic growth with protecting our key assets.