Plans for homes in Bury St Edmunds approved by West Suffolk

Members of West Suffolk Council’s development control committee met on Wednesday morning to discuss the proposals submitted in August last year by Maurice and Lesley Sananes.

The plans were for the homes to be built on land at King’s Road, Bury St Edmunds, just north of Jacqueline Close, where 30 homes were built over chalk mines in 1964.

In July 1967, however, a sinkhole opened up right in front of one of the properties, with a larger collapse happening in December of the following year - most of the homes have since been evacuated and demolished, with only two left standing.

Nearly 60 years later, this formed part of the concerns shared by councillors during today’s meeting.

One of these, and the first to speak, was councillor Mike Chester, who asked why further investigation on land stability was not undertaken before a planning decision was reached, rather than by way of a condition at a later date.

Addressing this, the planning officer said due to the cost of these investigations, developers needed planning permission before committing the money to carry them out.

Regardless, the officer’s condition stated no development could begin before land stability issues were investigated and addressed - similarly if new issues arose during the development, these must be addressed before it continued.

James Simonson, the agent, said the homes were a "well-designed development" and the applicants were "fully aware of the chalk mining history" of the wider site.

Addressing the concerns, he pointed out the new homes specifically avoided the area of the chalk mines and were meant to "integrate with and facilitate" future phases of development from adjacent plots.

A range of other concerns was also raised both during this morning’s meeting and throughout the consultation period, with formal objections submitted by 10 residents as well as Bury Town Council.

Ward members councillors Jo Rayner and Julia Wakelam also stressed the views of several residents.

These included parking, amenity impact and size, but were deemed by officers to be addressed subject to conditions.

Councillor Ian Houlder, who proposed the approval of the plans, said the ‘huge amount of conditions’ ensured the delivery of the new homes.

Councillor Ian Houlder (Image: West Suffolk Council)

He added: “It’s about time this site was brought into a building use. It’s just a pity the rest of the site is going to remain the same until the land ownership and chalk mine problems are resolved.”

Mr Simonson also said the proposals would bring the derelict Hanchets Stonemasons, which have been empty for more than 16 years and have since been vandalised, back into use.

He added: “The applicant has worked for a decade now to bring forward the wider allocation, including this northern parcel.

“We’re in a housing crisis and it is vital that sustainably-located sites such as King’s Quarter are brought forward to meet local housing needs and help young people stay in Bury to contribute back to the town’s vitality.

“The proposals will regenerate a currently vacant brownfield site that, in its current state, causes anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping for local residents.”

The vote to approve the new homes was unanimous.