Saxmundham

New plans for Sax: come to our “drop-in” morning at the Market Hall this Saturday – a chance to give us your views / ask questions

The NP Steering Group is organising a ‘drop-in’ morning at the Market Hall, High Street, Saxmundham this Saturday (14th July).  Come and see us, any time between 10 a.m. and 12.30 p.m. to ask your questions, or give us your views.

 This is specially timely, since this week Suffolk Coastal District Council announced their new plans – out for consultation – for a new master-planned “South  Saxmundham  Garden Neighbourhood” which they say would provide, by 2036, over 800 new dwellings, a new primary school and some employment-related development.  The Neighbourhood would be between Saxmundham and Benhall, on the west side of the main road into town, and extending across to the A12 bypass. 

Taking existing planning permissions into account, the total new housing planned for Sax under the District Council’s draft Local Plan is around 1100 units, which would increase the town’s population of just over 4,000 by around 2,500.

Critics of the plan say this level of development is excessive and will fundamentally change the character of the town.  They doubt that the promises of new infrastructure will actually be delivered, leaving the town worse off, and that it will put undue pressure on existing services.  

Those in favour argue that Saxmundham is well placed with its road and rail transport links to be a larger centre, and that this increase should boost the town’s economy.  The draft Local Plan claims that the “Garden Neighbourhoods” (another is planned for Felixstowe) will:

“provide generous provision of green spaces, range of local facilities including schools, shops, meeting places and other community spaces alongside opportunities for recreation, walking and cycling. The variety of green spaces and community facilities are to be supported by employment opportunities and a wide choice of new housing to meet a range of needs supported by the most up to date digital infrastructure.”

You can see some key parts of the District Council draft plan here (we have divided it into parts, as it was too “heavy” to load as a whole):

Suffolk Coastal Local Plan Pt 1 to p.156 

Part 2 – Area Specific Strategies

Part 3 – draft local plan (contains the specific Saxmundham stuff at the start) 

Here is the section called Saxmundham and the A12:

“The A12 is a well used road which provides connections to many communities. Directing development to locations well related to the A12 will enable opportunities to make more use of the road and rail connections between Ipswich and Lowestoft. Increasing the level of development in these locations will help to sustain the existing communities which are becoming popular with tourists and second home owners resulting in fewer properties being available for the local community.

A large proportion of development is focused on the Saxmundham Garden Neighbourhood to enable the delivery of required education infrastructure, utilise the connections provided by the railway station and support the improvements to the A12 proposed as part of the Suffolk Energy Gateway Four Villages bypass. Saxmundham is geographically well placed in the district to provide employment opportunities for the communities in the north of the district and improve the connections between Ipswich and Lowestoft. The emergence of Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station will also further support the strategic growth of Saxmundham as a Market Town with a variety of services and facilities.

Consultation responses have highlighted the need for further education provision, improvements to the capacity of the medical practice and congestion issues in relation to the B1119 and B1121 crossroads and access to the supermarkets on Church Street. This Local Plan seeks to address these issues through a comprehensive garden neighbourhood master plan for Saxmundham which will provide employment opportunities, primary school, residential units and other supporting infrastructure.”

The new draft Local Plan states that for larger developments (which presumably includes plans for Saxmundham) the District Council will go back to entering into a “Section 106” agreement with the developers, instead of what is now the norm, namely charging a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).  Under the CIL system, the town or parish council is entitled to receive 25% of the total once its own Neighbourhood Plan is adopted – this to be used for locally-decided infrastructure purposes.  Under s.106 agreements, this does not apply, and the Town Council may not receive any benefit for local decision-making.

 Our Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group will be discussing all these issues, and how to respond, on 23rd July.  Saxmundham Town Council will also be responding.

The deadline for responding to this new consultation is the 14th September; it is rather unfortunate that the District Council has chosen to consult entirely over the summer holiday period.

Image at head of this article – with acknowledgment to Google Maps