Creeting St Peter - a philosophical dilemma for the Chair...

As Chair of Creeting St Peter Parish Council, one of the most troubling aspects of the role is the ongoing saga of the Poundfield Products facility at the southern end of the Parish.

In truth, the problems started with the very establishment of a concrete products factory in a river valley location, poorly served by the road network, and surrounded by agricultural land. The original owners had a rather challenging relationship with the village, tending to disregard planning conditions where it suited and using the weakness of the District Council’s planning enforcement team to extend the business over time.

The takeover of the business by SigmaRoc plc in 2017/18 promised a new relationship between business and community but, sadly, that proved to be a bit of a false dawn. And, following a difficult Parish Council meeting last January during which the local manager decided it was a good idea to talk over the Chair of the meeting despite numerous attempts on my part to restore order, meaningful dialogue ceased.

The problem is that, despite planning conditions that limit their operating hours, they insist on the right to start earlier, with the concomitant impact on local residents. They applied for an alteration on the basis of custom and practice, which was refused by the District Council in the basis that they had not proved their case, and followed that up with a formal request for such an alteration. That’s been pending now for more than a year, with a deafening silence from Mid Suffolk District Council in the meantime. It would be fair to say that residents weren’t keen.

At the time, we were told that the business had no plans to expand its footprint. A year later, the business has lodged a planning application to expand onto an area of agricultural land it owns. The stated intention is that the expansion will be for storage and outdoor manufacture only, with no new buildings proposed.

They are, of course, perfectly at liberty to apply. Likewise, residents are perfectly at liberty to object and have already done so in some cases. As Chair of the Council, my role is to enable councillors to consider the views of residents, determine what might be an appropriate response in our capacity as statutory consultees, and work with our Clerk to ensure that this is submitted in a timely manner.

I have my reservations about the application, some of which are linked to the attitude of the company towards compliance with the planning constraints placed upon it. But, ultimately, we must be guided by policy and impact, and rely on Mid Suffolk District Council to enforce the conditions they choose to set.

It’s likely to be a lively meeting, made more so by the apparent desire of the Managing Director, Michael Roddy, to attend. It would be fair to say that our personal relationship is somewhat strained, but we’ll doubtless see what it is he wants to contribute to our deliberations.

I’m going to have to be on the top of my game on Monday night...