King's Lynn and West Norfolk Local Plan 2026-2044 consultation

The Council is planning for the borough’s future housing and other development needs, with a nationally identified need for more than 8,000 additional homes.

Why taking part matters

Planning for new housing is not simply about identifying enough sites. It is also about understanding the needs of the people who already live in an area, as well as those who may want to live there in the future.

The consultation gives residents an opportunity to comment on where new homes, green spaces and other development could be located, as well as how the Council should engage with communities during the Local Plan process. People can also comment on more than 770 sites that have already been put forward and suggest broad locations for future growth.

For rural communities in particular, having a clear understanding of local housing need can help ensure that future development takes account of the people and communities it is intended to serve.

Read more and have your say here.

Connecting local planning with local housing need

The Local Plan Scoping Consultation is particularly relevant to the work of Community Action Norfolk’s Rural Housing Enabler, Ollie Brice.

Ollie works with rural communities to understand their housing needs and help them explore whether affordable housing could be developed to meet those needs. His role includes working with parish councils, residents, landowners, local authorities and housing organisations, helping to bring the different parties together and providing independent support throughout the process.

A key part of this work is the Housing Needs Survey.

What is a Housing Needs Survey?

A Housing Needs Survey gives people in a community the opportunity to provide information about their housing circumstances and what they may need in the future.

This could help identify, for example, whether local people are looking for affordable homes to rent or buy, whether older residents need more suitable accommodation, or whether younger people and families are finding it difficult to remain in the area.

The information gathered provides evidence of housing need within a particular community. It can then be used to help communities, councils and housing organisations understand what types of housing may be appropriate and whether there is a basis for taking a project forward.

Ollie has already completed Housing Needs Surveys for several Norfolk communities. The surveys are an important part of his work because they put local information and residents’ views at the centre of discussions about potential housing development.

Building with communities, not simply in communities

Working with a Rural Housing Enabler (RHE) does not mean that a community is being asked to accept a particular development.

Instead, the process starts by understanding whether there is a local need and what that need looks like. Where a need is identified, an RHE can help the community explore possible options, identify potential sites and bring the relevant organisations together.

This approach can help ensure that proposals are informed by local evidence and take account of the particular circumstances of a village or rural community. ACRE describes the RHE role as supporting communities to identify local housing need, consider how that need might be met and broker relationships between parish councils, local authorities, housing associations, landowners and other partners.

This is an important part of making sure that conversations about rural housing remain focused on people, communities and local need, as well as the number of homes required.

Have your say

The King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Local Plan Scoping Consultation is open until 11.59pm on Tuesday 29 September 2026.

Residents, community organisations, parish and town councils, landowners and other interested parties can take part. The consultation asks for views on where new homes and other development could be located, what the Local Plan should cover and how people would like to be involved as the plan develops.

The feedback received will be collated and used to inform the next stages of preparing the Local Plan.

Find out more and take part in the consultation here.

Could your community benefit from a Housing Needs Survey?

If your parish or rural community wants to understand its local housing needs, Ollie can help.

As CAN’s Rural Housing Enabler, he can work with communities to undertake a Housing Needs Survey, understand the findings and explore what options may be available if a need for affordable housing is identified.

To find out more, contact Ollie Brice:
Email: oliver.brice@communityactionnorfolk.org.uk
Tel: 01362 698216