Brancaster: Council backs plans for shops on Roman fort land

The council said if facilities were not provided for tourists in Brancaster they would go elsewhere

Shops and restaurants will be built on the land of a former Roman fort, despite warnings from Historic England.

The Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk granted planning permission for the building at Saxon Field in Brancaster, near Hunstanton.

It is in area once occupied by the Branodunum settlement, a scheduled monument.

Historic England objected to plans, but the applicant Tom de Winton said houses had already been built on the land.

The one-storey u-shaped structure will comprise 12 units, including two cafes or restaurants, four shop spaces, three office spaces and three artisanal workshops, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Historic England warned the scheme would have "a direct and adverse impact on any archaeological remains present".

'Tourists our new harvest'

But Mr de Winton told the 20 July meeting of the council's planning committee archaeological digs found no conclusive evidence of Roman activity in the area where he hoped to build.

He also said the unit would be crucial to the many coastal visitors, saying "tourists are our new harvest".

The committee on the Conservative-led council voted by 14 in favour, with just one against.

Conservative councillor Elizabeth Nockolds said: "Tourism is so important to our area and we need places for people to stop and visit in Brancaster."

She added the plan was "a really good opportunity".

Terry Parish, the council's independent opposition leader, said: "If you balance up whether there's greater public benefit to providing employment opportunities against possible harm to stone under the ground, which is probably not there, I would suggest that the best public benefit is to provide those opportunities to local people to get employment."