SWANTON MORLEY
PARISH COUNCIL
BRECKLAND DISTRICT COUNCIL
LOCAL PLAN: REGULATION 18 CONSULTATION
Breckland Council is carrying out a public consultation on the Draft Plan from Friday 31 October 2025 until 23:59 on Monday 15th December 2025 This stage of the local plan (known as Regulation 18) sets out the Council's draft policies and growth strategy and is an important stage in the plan-making process. It provides an early opportunity for our communities, businesses, landowners, developers, partners and stakeholders to 'have a say' and comment on the draft Local Plan before it is considered further and then finalised for the next (Regulation 19) stage. Consultation will also take place at the Regulation 19 stage.
Documents can viewed here
Consultation events
The Council is committed to ongoing engagement with communities. In addition to making the Plan publicly available via the council’s website the Councill be holding a number of drop-in events where the Plan can be seen and where Council Officers will be available to explain it and discuss matters.
Information on the dates and times of public events are available on the website
We are keen for local people to tell us their views, and we would therefore encourage you to get involved and have your say on this draft version of the Plan. If you wish to comment on the Draft Plan, please use the Form that is available at the following link
Please note: You will be able to browse public documents but in order to make representations on the Draft Local Plan you will need to Register or verify your email. This helps to ensure that you are the actual owner of the email address.
You will then be asked to fill out a profile page and make some choices about how we may contact you. Please note: these questions are not mandatory, however it is really useful for us to know who our consultations are reaching and helps us to ensure we are meeting the requirements of consultation and the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement.
Please note that all representations must be received by 23:59 on December 15 2025.
All comments will be considered as part of the process of preparing the next version of the Local Plan, known as the 'Pre-Submission' or 'Regulation 19' version. This will be subject to further consultation in 2026.
SWANTON MORLEY PARISH COUNCIL
PROPOSED COMMUNITY GOVERNANCE REVIEW MARCH 2025
The future of Robertson Barracks.
As part of a wider £5.1bn investment programme to deliver a modern and sustainable estate for the military to live and train on, Robertson Barracks has been identified as surplus to military requirements and is expected to close in 2031. This provides a potential opportunity to create an integrated, new, rural community that will continue to be part of Norfolk life when the army leaves.
The team
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is the estate expert for defence, supporting the armed forces to enable military capability by planning, building, maintaining, and servicing infrastructure. The DIO is part of the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
The DIO has appointed a professional team of consultants to look at the opportunity and to undertake detailed feasibility studies on future options for Robertson Barracks.
Planning and Property Consultants responsible for site promotion, local plan engagement with Breckland District Council, and preparing any future planning application once the site is available for development.
Masterplanner and Architect responsible for working with the community to create a masterplan for the site.
Sustainability and Transport Consultants responsible for undertaking all feasibility studies to support any future plans.
Community Engagement Consultants responsible for engaging with the local community and consultation on future options for the site.
For more information and any updates please visit:
https://robertson-barracks.co.uk/learn-more/
Breckland District Council Local plan.
The council's planning policy documents set the strategic context for development in the District. These include governing the decisions made on planning applications and which types of development are suitable for each area. It is a key document that guides development in the District over the next 20 years.
The National Planning Policy Framework sets an expectation that each Local Planning Authority (LPA) should produce a single Local Plan which sets out the strategic planning priorities for the District.
Following the Examination in April 2023, the Council received the final Inspector's Report in respect of the Examination of the Partial Update and the Inspector found the review to be 'sound'.
The Breckland Local Plan (as amended by the Partial Update) was adopted at Council on 21 September 2023.
Breckland District Council Local Plan
Breckland District Council Local Plan Review 2024
In September 2022, Breckland Council agreed to undertake a review of the Adopted Local Plan 2019. The Council agreed a revised timetable for this in November 2023.
The Review is a Full Update of the Plan that will roll forward the plan to 2046, including the allocation of new developments and reviewing other policies as necessary.
The Council has completed a Partial Update of the Local Plan on Policy INF 03.
Breckland Council Local Plan review page
Additional information for residents
Breckland Council Strategic Infrastructure Plan
Swanton Morley Parish Council response to Breckland District Council's Local Plan Regulation 18 Consultation
"Roger Atterwill, Chairman of Swanton Morley Parish Council said, the Parish Council commissioned an independent analysis of Breckland Council's local development plan proposals. This detailed 126 page report was discussed at length and unanimously agreed by Parish Councillors at our meeting held on Monday 8th July. This has been submitted to Breckland Council. The report provides detailed analysis of Breckland's proposed development policies and constructive observations and response concerning the future of Robertson Barracks. We are aware that this brownfield site could be utilised by the Government for prison or immigration purposes but the Parish Council feels that it has a lot of potential for both housing and employment growth. This would be our preferred option. There are many existing technical buildings which could be repurposed to create business premises and the Parish Council understands the potential the site has to create jobs for local people. We will continue to work constructively with Defence Infrastructure Organisation and Breckland Council in the months and years ahead."
SMPC Response concerning the future of Robertson Barracks
At the Parish Council meeting held on Monday 10th March 2025, Parish Councillors unanimously agreed to formally request that Breckland Council carries out a community governance review.
The aim of this review would be to change the parish boundary to incorporate all the site known as Robertson Barracks.
This request will need to be considered at a meeting of the General Purposes Committee at Breckland Council.
The link below is the pdf document outlining the Parish Council’s proposal.