Decision looms on Pinebanks homes scheme in Thorpe St Andrew

In 2013 a total of 725 houses were earmarked for Thorpe St Andrew spanning four locations - Pinebanks, Langley North, Langley South and Griffin Lane.

Broadland District Council approved plans to redevelop the land, but there were concerns about the number of houses being built and damage to heritage sites.

The revised plans will protect eight hectares of ancient woodland and the ice age pit (Image: Archant)

In December 2022, the number of homes was reduced to 555 by site developer Ocubis, after protests from locals living nearby.

Now the revised plans, which are due to come before Broadland's planning committee this summer, include a project to provide a "long-term sustainable future" for eight hectares of ancient woodland and an ice age pit.

Ian Mackie, Thorpe St Andrew county councillor and member of Friends of Thorpe St Andrew, said: "Through local campaigning, all four sites have seen reduced housing numbers and the removal of blocks of flats taking the number of houses built down to 550.

Ian Mackie, centre, with locals, development managers at Ocubis and consultant A.T. Coombes (Image: Ian Mackie)

"I can see a glint of light at the end of this long tunnel. 

"I’m reassured that the plans proposed now offer a significant step in the right direction overall, including the protection and restoration of the woods, which are both excluded from the area in which development will be delivered.

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"The long-term future of the woodland will be secured as a wildlife reserve and the opportunities for local involvement could be very positive despite the pressures from the building proposals.

The land in Thorpe St Andrew earmarked for hundreds of homes (Image: Pinebanks Proposals)

"The impact these changes will have on the development itself is the immediacy of having work start around Hillcrest Road and Henby Way but people in the area have understood, for the last 10 years now, there were going to be more houses here.

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"It's now a case of getting the development under way rather than being delayed anymore."

The revised plans are due to be submitted to the planning committee in the summer (Image: Archant)

Pinebanks plans

Pinebanks, the site of the former Norwich Union Sports and Social Club, was sold by Aviva in 2009 after the club's closure a year earlier.

Initial plans to redevelop the disused site by Jersey-based Berliet were approved by Broadland District Council in June 2013, including a £3.5m community investment in sports facilities.

Part of the Pinebanks site burned down in July 2014 (Image: Submitted)The aftermath of the Pinebanks fire (Image: Bill Smith/Newsquest)

However, an illegal rave was held at the site in November 2013 and a major fire burned down much of the site's main building in July 2014, which was built in 1880. 

READ MORE: More than 100 people protest against fresh plans for 555-home Pinebanks estate

The proposals have been revised and debated at length through the years, amid community protests about issues including access to the site being reduced to one point, community funding being eroded and the site being left in a derelict state.

Neighbouring Langley North and South were once home to Langley Prep School and included part of what was Pinebanks and includes the Grade II-listed Taylor’s Tower.

In January, hundreds of protestors clad with placards marched from Broadland's nearby offices in Yarmouth Road to Henby Way - which backs onto the Pinebanks site - against the development.