Suffolk Bitesize: Your weekly council round-up, with news out of Ipswich, Lakenheath, and Flixton
Here’s some of what your representatives across the county have been up to since Monday, October 30.
A plan for 139 new homes in Lakenheath has taken a step forward.
A reserved matters application appeared before West Suffolk councillors following initial approval in 2018.
This gave councillors the chance to consider the plans’ access, appearance, landscaping, layout, and scale.
The development will see the new houses being built in a 5.43-hectare plot to the south of the village, west of Eriswell Road, with 42 ‘affordable’ homes being scattered across the site.
Concerns were raised over the loss of trees to minimise the risk of bird strikes to passing aircraft, with Cllr Phil Wittam saying it was a ‘crying shame’.
However, the tree-planting schedule provided by the developer was deemed ‘suitable’ for the project’s landscaping needs.
A churchwarden has pleaded with Ipswich Borough Council’s after St Mary Stoke was left in ‘complete darkness’
The warden, Pamela Geoghegan, raised her concerns to the South West Area committee on Thursday night.
After the spotlights outside the building stopped working a few weeks ago, Ms Geoghegan was told the council was no longer able to manage them.
This is despite the council managing the lights for the last 20 years.
The grounds have long been the target of crime and Ms Geoghegan fears it is no longer safe without the working lights.
Councillors promised to look into the issue.
Cllr Philip Smart, who took on the responsibility, said: “I will do my best to get to the bottom of the issue and get it resolved satisfactorily.”
A controversial new quarry was given the go-ahead in Flixton despite ongoing resident objections.
The quarry was approved on Tuesday after being deferred for a site visit in September.
The quarry will be situated to the north-east of Flixton, as an extension of the existing Flixton Park Quarry, and is expected to extract up to one million tonnes of sand and gravel over a five to six-year period.
Fierce objections were raised by Claire Anderson and her husband, the owners of Nursery Cottage, a 17th-century grade-II property who refused the development with every fibre’ of their being.
They raised concerns over flooding, dust, noise, and vibrations, but were told reports found there would be ‘no or negligible degree of damage’ to the property.
The proposal is being brought by Cllr Paul West at next week’s SCC cabinet meeting in a bid to ‘reduce ongoing maintenance costs’ and bolster road quality.
It will focus on local roads which, he says, are often ‘less maintained’ due to lack of money.
Reports for local and minor roads between 2020 and 2023 exceeded 17,000 complaints, making this a high-priority issue.
The proposal would see the new roads last between 10 and 20 years depending on traffic and type of vehicle.
John Clemens, lead SCC officer on operational highways, said: “This isn’t going to be filling more potholes, this is to prevent them from forming.”
Ipswich will see £13m invested into local businesses and projects.
The funding is part of three different proposals and was approved on Tuesday by the cabinet.
Cllr Neil MacDonald, the council’s leader, said he was ‘delighted’ and the money will be used to make sure people ‘ can come and feel welcome, safe, and entertained’.
The funding is a mix of direct support to existing businesses, shopping parades, ringfenced money for new projects, and improvements to the digital infrastructure of the town.
Cllr Ian Fisher added this was a ‘gold opportunity’ for Ipswich and one which has the potential of benefiting every resident in the borough and making the town ‘somewhere we can all be proud to live’.
