Two large development sites in Norfolk have been sold to house-building firms.

Norwich Evening News: An aerial view of the development site in Mulbarton which has been sold to Hopkins Homes. Picture: SUBMITTEDAn aerial view of the development site in Mulbarton which has been sold to Hopkins Homes. Picture: SUBMITTED (Image: Archant)

The sites, in Aylsham and Mulbarton, together have planning permission for 480 new homes to be built in the next 18 months.

Norwich Evening News: Erik Pagano, managing director of Landform Estates. Picture: ALEX HURRELLErik Pagano, managing director of Landform Estates. Picture: ALEX HURRELL (Image: Archant)

They have been sold by London-based land promoter Landform Estates for £15.7m

The 25-acre site in Aylsham, which has consent for 300 new houses, has been sold to David Wilson Homes, a subsidiary of Barratts. The Mulbarton site, which is for 180 houses, has been bought by East Anglian housing specialist Hopkins Homes.

A third of the new homes in both developments would be affordable housing units.

As part of the planning permission for the Aylsham site, a new £1.4m fitness and dance centre, a modernised swimming pool, along with 15 acres of land for new recreational and academic use would be provided to Aylsham High School, as well as serviced allotments for the town council. There would also be a new school car park and a public riverside walk as part of the scheme.

Landform's managing director, Erik Pagano, said: 'We always like to work with the local community when we are seeking planning consent so that we can bring new amenities to the district as well as the new housing. This, for us, goes to the heart of the government's new localism agenda.'

At Mulbarton, the new 33-acre housing site would also provide locals with 1.5 acres of new allotments, a £500,000 contribution to education, eight acres of public open space, local highways improvements, as well as an additional one-off contribution of £150,000 to help the local Mulbarton infant and primary schools to up-grade their facilities. Locally-based Saffron Housing Trust would build the 59 new affordable homes.