A major application for 83 homes on Costessey farmland has sparked hundreds of objections. Reporter SOPHIE WYLLIE looks at how the area has transformed from a small Roman settlement into a major Norwich suburb.
'Costessey is saturated with houses - we as a community are very welcoming but everything has a limit.'
That is the stark message from South Norfolk District councillor Vivienne Bell who represents New Costessey and has lived in the area for 50 years.
And it is not just Mrs Bell who shares that view.
Costessey Town Council chairman Patrick O'Connor, Tim East who lives in the area as well as representing it on Norfolk County Council and some residents share that view.
But despite concerns over increased traffic as well as extra pressure on schools and health services, Mrs Bell, 65, loves living in the 'flourishing area' calling it a 'wonderful place to live'.
In just over 20 years 2,352 new homes have been built in New and Old Costessey.
This includes Queen's Hills development on the edge of Costessey which will include 1,881 homes after it is completed – so far 1,524 have been built since 2007.
The Lodge Farm development next to Dereham Road was started more recently and 513 have been finished.
Building work on 484 more homes on the same plot has just started.
Some 62 homes were built on Townhouse Road, despite objections from town, district and county councillors.
The application for the 83 homes on Farmland Road, close to the River Tud, is similar to an application thrown out by South Norfolk Council in May 2016 because of its potential for 'unacceptable visual impact' on the river valley landscape.
Mrs Bell said she was not against planned development, which includes Queen's Hills and the Lodge Farm site.
But she added: 'I'm against unplanned developments like Townhouse Road and the Farmland Road proposal which are imposed and not appropriate. I will fight against Farmland Road which is wholly inappropriate.'
Mrs Bell believed the Queen's Hills development was a good thing for the area, despite infrastructure issues which are now being sorted.
A spokesman for the Queen's Hills Consortium of builders said completion and adoption of the roads and sewers at the development was delayed because the original developers went into administration during construction.
They confirmed the adoptions are due to start this summer.
Mrs Bell added a good community was forming on the estate through the primary school and West Costessey Hall, as well as on the Lodge Farm site.
'I have faith in the future of Costessey. We have lots of people working hard to make Costessey a vibrant community,' she said.
The councillor praised the area's three community centres, all of which are popular with dozens of groups each week.
She added the area was attractive because of its access to woodland.
Mr East, 72, who lives close to the Lodge Farm development, said: 'Costessey is a wonderful place to live but we cannot accommodate any more houses. Costessey has had its fair share of development.
'I have lived here for 60 years and the area has changed massively – when I first moved here I could look onto views across to the Norfolk Showground. Now I can see hundreds of houses.'
He added a problem from new houses was services including healthcare and schools had not grown with demand.
'The pressure will inevitably grow on the accident and emergency department at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital because Costessey's two medical surgeries won't be able to cope with the increase.
'The schools are also getting near to capacity. The Farmland Road houses would exacerbate the situation.'
Mr East said if Farmland Road was approved it would set a precedent and the green area between New and Old Costessey would disappear.
Mr O'Connor said: 'Costessey has expanded tremendously over the last 10 years.'
He added the town council was not a group of nimbys and understood development had to happen but he believed Costessey's services were not coping with the population increase.
It is estimated the population has grown from 9,000 in 1972 to 16,000.
Costessey infrastructure
With its large retail park, access to Norwich city centre as well as the A47 and A11, Costessey is an attractive place for people moving into the area and developers.
And with the development of the 12.5 mile £178.5m Norwich Northern Distributor Road, stretching from the A47 at Postwick to the A1067 Fakenham Road, Tim East said traffic is expected to increase in the area after it opens.
'Costessey is a growth area. That is why it is important we have a full northern bypass,' Mr East added.
He is behind the long-term Norwich Western Link idea which could see the NDR join the A47 to the west of Norwich so fewer cars use Costessey as a rat run.
Work has started to dual the Dereham Road from the Longwater Retail Park roundabout off the A47 to the Longwater Lane junction to stop traffic tailbacks in and out of Norwich.
What do Costessey residents think?
Tony Harris, 71, who lives off Grove Avenue in New Costessey, said: 'It has become noisy, clogged up with traffic and a lot of the green spaces have been developed. It has become a rat run and has lost its rural charm.'
Nigel Powley, in his mid 60s, from The Kerridges in New Costessey, said: 'I have lived here all my life and it is a lovely place to live. The fact it is now a town and not a village is a retrograde step. I'm concerned it is getting too big. I think it is getting a bit overcrowded. I know they have got to build houses and people need somewhere to live but it is getting a bit silly in Costessey and the infrastructure cannot cope.'
Kitchen and bathroom fitter Matt Staddon, 43, from The Street in Old Costessey, said: 'The traffic in the area has got worse over the last five years. The extra housing is a bit of a problem.'
Joan Miller, 69, who moved from Lancashire to Costessey's West End several years ago, said: 'It is wonderful here. Everyone is so friendly.'
Costessey history
Costessey lies in the valleys of the Rivers Wensum and Tud and used to be a marshy area.
It is now divided into Old Costessey, which sits on the old village settlement, and New Costessey, which has developed since the 1920s from a few homes.
The settlement is referred to as Costeseia in the 1086 Domesday Book.
During the historic feudal system in the years following the Domesday Book, Costessey Manor was established and became the largest area of Norfolk land gifted by the reigning monarch.
This pattern continued until the early 1550s when Mary 1 granted the manor to Sir Henry Jerningham.
Costessey Hall, on the estate, was originally a manor in 1066 but was expanded into a large Gothic castle for Lord Stafford Jerningham between 1826 and 1836.
The house was demolished in 1925 and the only part that remains is the belfry on Costessey Park Golf Course.
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