All you need to know about Norwich South election candidates

Here are the answers from those who responded...

What is your top priority for Norwich South during the next parliament?

Clive Lewis (Labour): "We need to boost wages and reduce deprivation and the cost of living. Workers in Norwich earn some of the lowest wages in cities. Chronic low pay has enormous effects on our city."

David Thomas (Conservative): "We need to make Norwich a more prosperous and socially mobile city. We have huge potential here, with world class universities, incredible culture and leading innovation across multiple industries. But we need to do more to unlock that potential and that’s what I’m keen to do."

Sean Bennett (Lib Dem): "One of my top priorities will have to be tackling the housing crisis here in Norwich and beyond. I have received multiple questions on this matter since the start of the campaign, both on the doorstep and in writing. This is an issue that is clearly at the forefront of people’s minds."

Jamie Osborn (Green): "Housing that everyone can afford. The Greens are the only party in Norwich who are committed to real action on building more council housing and making rents affordable."

READ MORE: 5 key questions about Norwich North answered by election candidates

How will you try to help councils get housebuilding moving, particularly on brownfield sites such as Anglia Square?

Clive Lewis (Labour): "I'm backing the city council's attempts to raise funds to buy the Anglia Square site. If they're successful, that could get the project moving again, and if they own the site, it could possibly open up new opportunities for what to do with it next time."

David Thomas (Conservative): "Uncertainty in the planning process is a huge part of what is slowing down building, especially among smaller house builders. We should have a design code where plans that meet it are automatically recommended for approval to cut down on bureaucracy and uncertainty for everyone."

Anglia Square in Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

Sean Bennett (Lib Dem): "The Lib Dems are committed to empowering councils and housing associations to play a more active role in housing delivery for their communities. We will reform planning obligations to safeguard the delivery of on-site affordable housing and allow public bodies to buy more land for development, at fairer market rates."

Jamie Osborn (Green): "The most important thing is that any development should provide housing that people can actually afford. That’s why I've campaigned to get public ownership of Anglia Square so that the council can direct the development there without being in hock to tax-avoiding developers who want to build flats that most people can’t afford."

Should the Western Link be built?

Clive Lewis (Labour): "No. It's hugely environmentally destructive and expensive. And it's not even a permanent solution for rat-running and congestion problems around the proposed route."

David Thomas (Conservative): "Yes. Norwich is a major city that should have a full ring road, not three quarters of one. Its absence is holding back business, making transport harder for local people and leaving inappropriate amounts of traffic on small residential roads."

Sean Bennett (Lib Dem): "It is clear that congestion in our area, particularly in Costessey, needs to be addressed. However, in the face of the increasing likelihood that the road will never actually be built, we must begin looking seriously at alternative solutions to the problem."

Jamie Osborn (Green): "It shouldn’t and it can’t be, as proceeding with it would almost certainly break the law. Staggeringly, the county council has wasted £40m on this road already, which is totally unaffordable when we have schools crumbling, roads full of potholes, and hospital ceilings collapsing."

A visualisation of the Norwich Western Link (Image: Norfolk County Council)

Are you in favour of Debenhams being demolished and rebuilt for student housing?

Clive Lewis (Labour): "My preference would be for liveable, affordable accommodation at a social rent. But for many reasons, the chances of that are meagre, so inevitably, we will have to consider other uses for the site."

David Thomas (Conservative): "I want us to have a city centre we’re proud of, with thriving tourism and retail meaning that converting Debenhams into student housing isn’t the most commercially viable option."

Sean Bennett (Lib Dem): "Buildings cannot be allowed to simply fall into disrepair, so the conversion or development of the Debenhams site is something I am in favour of. However, we must consider the needs of the city at large when deciding the manner in which that site should ultimately be developed."

The old Debenhams store in Norwich (Image: Denise Bradley)

Jamie Osborn (Green): "The kind of flats that are proposed for above Debenhams cost over £900 per month for a single room. That's completely unaffordable for most students, many of whom want to live in shared housing nearer the university anyway. A better use for Debenhams would be business premises or affordable housing."

READ MORE: Norwich Market stallholders say Tories have lost their vote after 'toughest year'

Which Norwich restaurant is your favourite, why and what would you order?

Clive Lewis (Labour): "With its funky food, provision stalls, and nearby city centre independents, the Norwich Market area is a fantastic place to eat or drink. They are all great, so I'm not going to choose."

David Thomas (Conservative): "Assuming I’m not allowed to re-open Woolf & Social, I’ll go for a dosa at Namaste Village please! I still remember the first time I ate their food and it was incredible."

Norwich Market (Image: Denise Bradley)

Sean Bennett (Lib Dem): "I would have to say No33 Exchange Street. I am slowly working my way through their menu, but I would have to say that my go-to would be their aptly named 'The Beast' breakfast."

Jamie Osborn (Green): "I used to be a regular at Ruth's Kitchen on Magdalen Street - now I go to Moorish for my falafel. I don't take eating out for granted - I've had an eating disorder for 15 years, so eating out is a bit of a triumph for me personally and is a reason I am campaigning for better mental health services."

Reform UK's Graham Burton, the Party of Women's Linda Law and independent candidate Elizabeth Davey are also standing for election in Norwich North - they did not respond to the questions.