A COUNTY councillor has moved to calm concerns over expansion plans at Acle that could see it grow more than 10 times over the next 12 years into a town with 30,000 homes.

A COUNTY councillor has moved to calm concerns over expansion plans at Acle that could see it grow more than 10 times over the next 12 years into a town with 30,000 homes.

Brian Iles, who represents Acle ward, said there was more likely to be between 100 and 200 houses built in the village between now and 2021, not the thousands suggested in a speech by Mike Innes, president of the Norfolk Association of Architects.

Mr Innes raised the prospect of Acle growing by 30,000 homes as part of an urban corridor linking Great Yarmouth and Norwich as the county council's planning chiefs grapple with the thorny problem of finding room for 80,000 homes.

But Mr Iles allayed fears there would be a glut of applications, saying that many would be rejected because they did not conform to planning regulations.

He said: “We have a plan with all these areas on it earmarked for development, but most of them will be eliminated.”

Last week The Mercury canvassed opinion in Acle about the proposal and found most people were alarmed at the prospect of adding thousands of more homes.

Concerns ranged from traffic to school places and although business people could see benefits to trade, most said the thriving village was doing fine as it was.