Take Action

Specific actions to take now

As of November 2025, Wain Estates will be in the process of getting their planning application ready for submission online. This will likely take until early January, as there is a lot of feedback from the consultation for them to consider.

It is important during this lull period that we take specific actions to build opposition momentum to this development, including lobbying.

Lobby South Norfolk Council

Lobbying South Norfolk Council is essential to oppose the Wain Estates development in Costessey & Bowthorpe, as it oversees planning decisions, including the ongoing Greater Norwich Local Plan (GNLP) review that could allocate the site for housing.

Focus on Cllr Sharon Blundell, the Chair Councillor at South Norfolk, who can ensure that the application receives committee scrutiny by elected councillors rather than officer delegation, amplifying community concerns.

Her email address is: sharon.blundell@southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk

For lobbying against the site's re-inclusion in the upcoming GNLP review, Cllr Lisa Overton-Neal is the cabinet member for Planning & Economic Growth, who oversees planning policy and site allocations. Her email address is: lisa.overton-neal@southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk.

Lobby Ben Goldsborough MP

Ben Goldsborough is MP for South Norfolk. Lobbying him is important, as he can elevate local concerns to national level. He can challenge government housing targets for Norfolk that influence the upcoming GNLP review. He can also lobby South Norfolk Council and Costessey Town Council.

Residents should urge him to advocate for environmental protections, including confirmation of the provisional Tree Preservation Order (SN0758) on veteran oaks and woodland, while highlighting risks to ecology, flooding, and infrastructure from the EIA scoping opinion (2025/2331). His intervention could amplify community opposition and push for sustainable alternatives.

His email address is: ben.goldsborough.mp@parliament.uk

Lobby Costessey Town Council

Lobbying Costessey Town Council is crucial to oppose the Wain Estates development, as it serves as a statutory consultee with direct input into South Norfolk Council's planning decisions. The council can formally object, recommending refusal based on local concerns such as inadequate medical provision, traffic congestion on Barnard Road, flooding risks south of New Road, sewage capacity issues, and the lack of a primary school, as raised in their September 2025 meeting with Wain Estates.

Here are the key councillors to contact:

• Cllr Louise Gibbs-Kneller (Planning Chair) - louise.gibbskneller@costesseytc.org

• Cllr Sheila Jones - sheila.jones@costesseytc.org

• Cllr Ross Wheeldon - ross.wheeldon@costesseytc.org

• Cllr Dean Toms - dean.toms@costesseytc.org

• Cllr Libby Glover - libby.glover@costesseytc.org

Other councillors who might be useful to contact:

• Cllr Terry Laidlaw (Chairman of Costessey Town Council) - terry.laidlaw@costesseytc.org

• Cllr Graham Jones - graham.jones@costesseytc.org

These councillors were all present at the meeting between themselves and Wain Estates in September. Even though they may state that all of them together count only as one voice/objection that one voice might have some very important concerns and objections to raise.

Lobby Norwich City Council

Even though the planning application falls under the jurisdiction of South Norfolk Council, Norwich City Council (NCC) play a special role in this development because they own a significant portion of the land on which Charter Wood sits, as well as, the fields in the south-east corner of the site.

Without NCC's express permission and backing of the development, Wain Estates' current plan to develop access via New Road will not be possible.

Therefore, effective lobbying of NCC could force a major redesign of the plan to exclude New Road development or scupper the development altogether.

Key councillors to contact (in order of importance):

• Cllr Emma Hampton (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate & Environment) - emma.hampton@norwich.gov.uk

• Cllr Mike Sands (Bowthorpe Ward and member of NCC's Planning Committee) - mike.sands@norwich.gov.uk

• Cllr Sue Sands (Bowthorpe Ward, wife of Mike Sands) - sue.sands@norwich.gov.uk

• Cllr Richard Lawes (Bowthorpe Ward) - richard.lawes@norwich.gov.uk

Register on the South Norfolk Portal

Once the application is online we only have 28 days to log our complaints on the South Norfolk Council portal. We will have to work fast in order for everyone to object. If you haven’t registered on the South Norfolk portal already please do so now, so you will be able to make objections when the time comes.

The link is: https://info.southnorfolkandbroadland.gov.uk/online-applications/login.jsp

Get Involved / Support

Reach out to us.