Plans for 23 affordable homes in Ostend Road Walcott Norfolk

Norwich-based housing association Flagship Homes has submitted an application to build 23 affordable homes off Ostend Road in Walcott.

North Norfolk District Council last year granted Luke Warren of London-based Warren Property Group permission to build 16 social housing units on the site as well as two larger homes, which would be sold on the open market.

Plans for the Ostend Road Walcott site (Image: Flagship Homes)

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But Flagship expressed interest in the land, and has now applied to build all affordable homes, which will be available at below market prices.

However, the site is controversial as a coastal erosion map submitted with the original application showed that a corner of the site could be lost to the sea within just over 80 years, by 2105.

All 23 homes will be for rent, with 13 houses, eight flats and two bungalows – all with car parking spaces.

Eighteen of the homes will be accessed from a proposed access road off Ostend Road, with the other five being accessed directly off Ostend Road to the south.

The properties will each have their own gardens and there will also be an area of public green space.

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In Flagship’s planning statement, the housing association said: “The unaffordability of homeownership is, for many, directly related to the unaffordability of private rents.

“The high cost of rent is a clear barrier to many young people saving up for a house deposit in a reasonable timeframe.

“In addition, for many of the 1.2m people on the social housing waiting list, housing costs in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) can be very high.

“A safe, secure, comfortable home environment is a vital foundation for everyone to flourish.”