Bromford Flagship LiveWest - formerly known as Flagship - has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate after Breckland Council voted to block its £250m scheme to flatten and reconstruct the Abbey Estate in Thetford

The contentious scheme, which had sought to knock down 1,100 homes and rebuild them over a 20 year period, was rejected in October following significant backlash from local politicians and the 3,000 people who live there.

The crunch meeting in October saw the Abbey Estate plans refused (Image: Owen Sennitt)

Breckland officers had originally recommended that the scheme be approved, but following a heated four-hour meeting attended by scores of residents, councillors chose to throw the plans out.

Committee members believed the emotional distress the project would have caused outweighed any material planning benefits, using this for the basis of refusal.

Many living on the estate - which was built in the 60s and 70s and is among the most deprived neighbourhoods in England - had feared that compensation from the social housing association would fall short of what was needed to secure alternative housing in the town. 

Since the refusal, Flagship has been warned by opponents not to appeal the decision -advice which appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy had warned the developer not to appeal the decision (Image: UK Parliament)

Terry Jermy, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk and a vocal critic of the scheme, had said he would be “very disappointed" if Flagship chose to use tenants' money to appeal the plans. 

The developer had refused to comment on whether they planned to appeal the decision in the months which followed the decision, and there was speculation as to whether they would appeal or submit a new application which was built on local feedback.  

Following the announcement of the appeal, Mr Jermy said: "Throughout this process Flagship have demonstrated contempt for the views of local people and elected officials alike, now exemplified by their appeal of this planning application.

“Their attempts to destroy this community were strongly rejected by Breckland Council’s democratically elected planning committee last October so it is particularly disappointing that Flagship have not taken this opportunity to change course and instead work with local people. 

“This news should serve as a warning bell for any community where Flagship owns a number of properties because they’ve demonstrated their contempt for residents.

“This is not over and we will continue to fight these plans which are not right for the Abbey or Thetford. I stand alongside the local community in this fight.”

Terry Land, a Breckland and Thetford Town councillor, added: “Having heard the news Flagship are appealing the decision to turn down their planning application for the Abbey Estate I am angry beyond words.

Local councillor Terry Land said he was "angry beyond words" (Image: Newsquest)

“Having ridden roughshod over residents' wishes and provided much distress and anxiety in the process, they now want to do it all again.

“This is devastating news for the Abbey community and demonstrates a complete contempt for local people and Breckland's planning committee.”

The appeal will now go before the Planning Inspectorate, a government agency which has the power to overturn decisions made by local councils.

James Payne, director of regeneration at the housing provider, said it was “was not going anywhere".

“We respect Breckland Council’s decision and recognise that views on the proposals are strongly held. However, we believe there are grounds to appeal and that it is right to challenge the decision,” he said. 

The Abbey Estate (Image: Chris Bishop)

“People at the Abbey have been telling us for years that the estate needs long-term investment. We have a responsibility to them, and to the families who'll live here in decades to come, to make sure we try to deliver that. We want to ensure the Abbey remains a place where people can thrive for the long term.”

“We know that regeneration on this scale is unsettling, and nobody should have to just take our word for it that things will work out. That's exactly why an independent Planning Inspector matters here - they can look carefully at how change gets managed, and whether the right protections are in place.

"We're not going anywhere. Our focus is on working with the community and stakeholders to get improvements that make a genuine, lasting difference to daily life on the Abbey.”

© Eastern Daily Press