NEW: Towns, villages and countryside

Breckland’s residents live in market towns, villages and small hamlets throughout the district’s beautiful countryside.

How we describe these places – or settlements – and the boundaries that define them is an important consideration in thinking about future growth. 

Settlement Boundaries, or development limits, can be defined on maps using lines around the physical built edge of a village or town. Typically new development is considered to be sustainable within these boundaries. Development may be proposed beyond these boundaries in special circumstances. For instance; if there was a proven need: to allow for small-scale housing to meet locally identified needs such as affordable, entry level, starter homes, custom and self build housing and housing for the elderly, veterans or those with long term disabilities; or economic development that would provide local rural employment and support the vitality of rural settlements such as rural based tourism, the retention and expansion of existing businesses, farm diversification and expansion of sustainable farming and food production businesses.

The current Local Plan signals that development beyond settlement boundaries should be restricted. For some places, this can generate pressure for development. Some feedback shared so far suggests that these boundaries are too restrictive. Read more about emerging views. 

We would like your views on either continuing with a settlement boundary approach or an alternative criteria-based approach, which could mean proposed development would be considered against a defined criteria rather than an outright ‘yes or no’ based on the boundary line. Protecting the countryside and preserving the character of Breckland’s villages would be key considerations and such criteria has been successfully adopted in other local authority areas. 

Find out more

Read the full Consultation Paper: Approaches to defining settlements and protecting the countryside from inappropriate development. 

Explore the new proposed criteria for assessing potential development sites.

Read more about the emerging views from the Issues and Options phase of consultation.