Fears were raised over the future character of a number of south Norfolk towns and villages this week as councillors questioned plans to build thousands of extra homes.

By ADAMGRETTON

adam.gretton@archant.co.uk

Fears were raised over the future character of a number of south Norfolk towns and villages this week as councillors questioned plans to build thousands of extra homes.

Proposals for 11,000 new houses were rubberstamped by the district council's cabinet last month as part of a scheme to create more than 21,000 dwellings in the greater Norwich area by 2026.

But opposition councillors branded the decision to add an extra 2,000 properties to the area's quota as "inexplicable" on Monday as they called the plans in for review.

Murray Gray, leader of the South Norfolk Liberal Democrat group, said the north of the district had previously been allocated 9,000 new homes over the next 17 years as part of the Greater Norwich Development Partnership joint strategy. However, an additional 2,000 homes had been accepted by the council's Conservative administration.

A specially convened meeting of South Norfolk Council's scrutiny committee heard that 2,200 new homes were being proposed in Wymondham, 1,800 in Long Stratton, 1,200 in Cringleford, 1,000 in Hethersett, 1,000 in Costessey and Easton, 1,800 on smaller village sites, and 2,000 for a new settlement to the south of the city at Mangreen.

Mr Gray said it seemed "strange" that Norwich's proposed brownfield

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