Mixed reaction to plans for mustard factory revamp

A major regeneration of the former Colman's mustard factory has been welcomed, but the housing plans are sparking concerns about traffic at a bottleneck roundabout.

More details have emerged about the Homes England-backed scheme in Norwich, which will demolish parts of the site and build up to 3,500 homes.

A key access point will be from the Martineau Lane roundabout, which also provides access to neighbouring Trowse.

But at a first public event showcasing the plans, villagers living there told the BBC while they wanted to see it regenerated, they worried about the traffic it would bring.

Neil Roberts, a former town planner who lives in Trowse, said: "The roundabout jams up even at off-peak periods. At peak times, it is solid and traffic can back up as far as the A47.

"I can't see how it works."

Shaun Parsley, who lives across the road from Carrow Works, said: "It has been largely derelict for some time, we need to make good use of city land rather than build out in the countryside. But this area does need a relief road."

A planning application for the first phase of the scheme is due to be submitted early next year and details of the project continue to be developed ahead of its submission.

Initially, 300 homes would be built on the eastern section of the site, which sits next to the River Wensum.

Alasdair Willett, a wheelchair user, had other access concerns and said the housing proposed, many of them flats, was "not the housing disabled people need".

However, he was pleased the project would protect historic buildings like the 16th Century abbey and Carrow House.

"We must never lose sight of the story of Colman's mustard," Willett said.

Janet Cruse, who moved from London to Norwich four years ago, lives in a house that was part of the Colman's site in Bracondale.

She was positive about what she had seen so far.

"I'm pretty impressed," she said. "In my older age there may be something suitable for me - I'm rattling around a bit in my current house."

More details can be found on the project's website.

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