Housing plans to increase town population by 25%

The new housing will be built on land north of Beccles Road.

The population of a small town could increase by 25% after controversial housing plans were given the green light.

South Norfolk Council has approved proposals for 85 new homes on a nine-acre area north of Beccles Road in Loddon.

The houses will be built next to another approved development of 180 properties, which could result in a significant boost to the population of the town, currently at about 2,000.

If all the homes have two people living in them, they will bring 530 new people to Loddon – an increase of almost 25%, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The wider site has also been designated a preferred option for development in the emerging Greater Norwich Local Plan - a blueprint for where 50,000 homes could be built across Norwich and its outskirts between now and 2038.

Concerns have been raised about the impact of the development on local services, in particular the GP surgery and schools.

A spokesman for Loddon Town Council said: "Loddon is a modest heritage town with a large conservation area, and a plethora of listed buildings.

"Our heritage town needs to be protected by South Norfolk Council to ensure it retains its identity and it does not become a collection of disparate and unconnected housing developments."

Loddon, which is 12 miles (19 km) south of Norwich, is an historic town first mentioned in the will of Aelfric Modercope, written around 1042AD but no archaeological remains are believed to exist within a kilometre of the site.