Plan for 485 new homes rejected over identity fears

Councillors refused the plans over fears it would encroach on a nearby village's identity

Plans for 485 new homes have been refused over fears the development would "erode" the identity of a nearby village.

If approved, the proposals would have seen hundreds of new homes built near Newmarket Road, in Bury St Edmunds.

West Suffolk Council refused the application and stated it would encroach "significantly" on the village of Westley.

In planning documents, developers said they believed the homes were sustainable and would have "lasting benefits" for the area.

Protection buffer

Councillors said the development was "too close" to Westley and there was no justification on why it encroached on the designated buffer.

"The buffer seeks to protect Westley from being subsumed by Bury St Edmunds so housing and the road being closer to Westley than defined in the Statutory Local Plan will undermine that policy requirement and erode Westley's identity as its own village," the council said.

Prior to the decision, developers said in planning documents the "importance of ensuring that this proposed scheme does not lead to coalescence with Westley is an important constraint".

The new homes - which would have been of mixed tenure, size and price - were proposed for the eastern side of the site with a "green buffer" provided to "protect the setting and identity" of the village.

Developers planned a new relief road with two new roundabouts to connect the development to surrounding roads

Councillors also refused the application over concerns the "proposed development does not demonstrate that it will not have an unacceptable impact on highway safety".

They feared it could have "severe impacts" on local infrastructure. Plans for a new relief road to give access to the site were also considered unacceptable.

Issues mentioned with the relief road included that it was too wide, there was no detail about street lighting and the walking and cycling infrastructure did not "encourage non-car modes of travel for all groups of society".

Two new roundabouts - one on Newmarket Road to the north, and a second on Westley Road to the south - were also proposed but the council said the scheme "does not fully justify" their inclusion.

It said roundabouts "are known to be inherently dangerous for non-motorised forms of traffic" and the application has not designed them "to take account of the needs of cyclists and pedestrians".