More than 400 local people have been helping to shape the proposals for Somerleyton Road this year. Our discussions have:

• helped architects to draft an outline scheme for the project
• helped to work through some important issues (see Issues pages); and
• put forward some clear ambitions that will need further discussion to see whether they can be included in the final plans.

How we got here

Whilst there was a shared vision for Somerleyton Road; different people will have different priorities for this strip of land. The challenge was to weigh up these different priorities and come to a decision on an outline scheme. The steps towards an outline scheme were as follows:

1. Jan-Feb 2013: Initial workshops
2. Mar-Apr 2013: Community workshops, discussion and events - hosted by Brixton Green (see Get Involved page)
3. Ongoing: Ovalhouse engagement with stakeholders
4. 2 April 2013: Feedback event on Windrush Square (4pm to 8pm)
5. July: Council’s Cabinet considers the outline scheme

The feedback event and outline scheme

The feedback event took place on 2 May 2013 at Windrush Square. The exhibition material is below and we’d still like to hear your views - please comment directly on this page or email [email protected] Fig 1: Who has been involved?

Fig 2: Our initial thoughts

Figs 3 to 6: The outline scheme - This provides guidance but still allows for different options, such as the type of homes (for instance apartments, town houses or maisonettes).

Figs 7 and 8: Community ambitions

What happens now?

The outline scheme will provide guidance as to what we would like to see happen on Somerleyton Road. It might specify building heights, numbers of new homes, the amount of open space as well as the location and use of particular buildings i.e. a new arts and cultural facility on the northern end of Somerleyton Road. The outline scheme will be signed off by the Council’s Cabinet, hopefully in July, and they will need assurances that what is being proposed is financially viable and deliverable. We will continue discussions with local people over the coming months to test the community’s ambitions presented here and to agree what is possible. We will let potential developers know what we want to see happen on Somerleyton Road as part of an ‘invitation to tender’, which is likely to be in the Autumn 2013. The scheme put forward by the successful bidder will need to get planning permission, which will mean further engagement and consultation with local people in advance of it going to the Planning Applications Committee. It is unlikely that any work will start on Somerleyton Road until 2015. You can read the Project Team reports in the Library on this website. Other thinking can be followed on the Initial Workshops and the Issues pages.