Published: Wednesday, 27th March 2024
A significant milestone has been reached for the West Winch Housing Access Road, with the signing of an agreement to provide £18.39m of Brownfield Infrastructure Land funding from Homes England.
This is a critical piece of funding that will allow the scheme to move forward and unlocks up to 4,000 homes as well as a range of community facilities and commercial space.
The Borough Council’s Executive Director for Place, Oliver Judges, said:
“The importance of this news to the scheme cannot be overstated. The West Winch Housing Access Road is an essential part of the planned housing growth in the area. This agreement with Homes England ensures that a vital piece of its infrastructure can progress.
“The development in West Winch is the biggest housing scheme in West Norfolk – it is a project of regional significance that will eventually see thousands of new homes and opportunities for this borough and beyond.
“Officers from Norfolk County Council and the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk have done an extremely valuable piece of work, working closely together to get to this point and we would not have achieved this without their focus and determination.”
David Allfrey, Interim Director Highways, Transport & Waste from Norfolk County Council added:
“We are committed to delivering the West Winch Housing Access Road as soon as possible. It supports the expected housing and economic development in the area, as well as addressing the persistent traffic problems on the A10.
“This funding is a major piece of the puzzle and will help us to continue moving this project forward.”
The majority of the cost for the West Winch Housing Access Road is expected to come from central government through the Department for Transport’s Major Road Network (MRN) fund. Norfolk County Council submitted its latest business case to the Department for Transport towards the end of 2023 which includes an ask for the majority of the projected £84m cost.
The Department for Transport funding requires a minimum 15% local contribution towards the scheme cost. The majority of this will come from developer contributions but it is not available in advance. Homes England have stepped into a forward funding position through the provision of recoverable grant.
Pauline Schaffer, Director of Infrastructure Funding at Homes England said:
“We are delighted to award Norfolk County Council £18.39m of Brownfield Infrastructure Land funding. We are committed to working with local authority partners to help them meet their housing needs by supporting the delivery of new infrastructure.
“Both Norfolk County Council and the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk have worked collaboratively to progress the funding for this vital infrastructure that will help to support the two Councils’ long-term vision for growth in Kings Lynn by unlocking 4,000 new homes.”
This provision of Homes England funding was approved in October 2023 and it was made official on 25 March when the Grant Funding Agreement was legally completed. All parties are now committed to the successful delivery of the much-needed infrastructure to facilitate the growth of housing in Kings Lynn.
The planning application for the West Winch Housing Access Road was submitted at the end of 2023. It is available to view online on the Norfolk County Council website. The statutory consultation period runs until 21 April 2024 and the target determination date is 8 July 2024.
All parties eagerly await a decision from Department for Transport in respect of the MRN funding to provide certainty for the next phase of this exciting project.