Landlord of Little Plumstead pub says councillors have passed up on ‘answer to his prayers’ over junction

Damage to the Brick Kilns pub at Little Plumstead after a car crashed into the wall.Picture: ANTONY KELLY (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

The Brick Kilns pub is on the corner of Norwich Road in Little Plumstead and two years ago was left in need of major repairs after a vehicle crashed into it.

Even before this incident, landlord Paul Anderson-Cowles was insistent the junction, where Norwich Road meets Salhouse Road, was in desperate need of better safety precautions.

And he thought his answer had arrived, when developers looking to build up to 84 homes on land west of Salhouse Road included a roundabout for the junction in their plans.

However, Mr Anderson-Cowles's hopes were dashed on Wednesday, when members of Broadland District Council's planning committee opted to go against officer recommendations and refuse the plans.

He said: 'The roundabout would have been the answer to our prayers. The junction is in desperate need for improved safety measures and people in the village have campaigned for one to be put there for years.'

A council officer's report presented at the meeting said between 2012 and 2016, nine accidents occurred at the junction, two of which were serious.

Mr Anderson-Cowles said he had witnessed 'too many other' near-misses to recall.

He added:'The parish council have long since been looking for a way to make this roundabout happen and this development would have done this.'

However, Shaun Vincent, district councillor for the Plumstead ward, was highly critical of the application, describing it as 'predatory'.

He said: 'The application is not supported by local residents or the parish council. It is a predatory application that goes against our parish.'

Mr Vincent added that both Broadland District Council and Norfolk County Council would be working on a way of eventually delivering improvements to the council without need for the development.

Members of the planning committee rejected the application on the grounds that the site was not allocated for development and that it would encroach on the countryside.

Philip Atkinson, director of developers Lanpro, said the firm would 'definitely' be lodging an appeal against the committee's decision with the planning inspectorate.