Creeting St Peter - a little bit closer to McDonalds…

It would be fair to say that the Gateway 14 development has been a part of my life for the best part of five years now, with the initial controversy over the placement of a business and enterprise park on our doorstep succeeded by the long and wearying hybrid planning application phase during which a plucky parish council, working alongside a residents actions group, strove to improve the original proposals.

In the end, the District Council, the owners of Gateway 14, pretty much got their way, as was fairly inevitable. We did get some mitigations, with a bund to screen the site from the nearby group of properties at Clamp Farm, a promised electric bus service to transport workers to and from Stowmarket town centre and improvements to the lighting and ecosystem protection.

Last week saw a ceremony to mark the commencement of work on the new distribution centre for "The Range" and today we had the official opening of Gateway Boulevard, the spine road for the development.

So far, so meh. But, for residents of Creeting St Peter, it meant the final closure of our old road to Stowmarket, and its replacement with a new, more direct route to Tesco (our nearest supermarket), Stowmarket and the A14. And so, a few of us turned up for the opening ceremony.

What had been a bright and sunny morning had become a rather raw, cloudy afternoon, heavy with the threat of rain, but the local dignitaries had turned up, councillors, the Mayor of Stowmarket and the board of Gateway 14 Ltd, to witness the cutting of a ribbon by James Caston, Chair of Mid Suffolk District Council.

With the official opening complete, there was an offer of tea and cake. However, given that it was a bit bleak, and I had work to get back to, Ros and I decided to skip the free calories and drive home... using the new road. In the picture, you might make out a yellow van, out of which an employee of the contractors got before kicking the cones into the nearby ditch and thus effectively opening the road to through traffic, which makes us the second people to drive out of Gateway 14 towards the Creetings.

I'll remember it for the rest of my days.

It must be said though that, finally, the whole Gateway 14 thing feels a bit more real and, for residents of Creeting St Peter, there is a tangible benefit, in that our journey times are reduced and a few existing highways problems have been solved.

It also means that we feel a little less detached from Stowmarket which, if you don't live here, might seem a bit strange. But our village has always been far enough away from Stowmarket to feel as though we're not connected, yet close enough for residents to benefit from a convenient mainline railway station and the services that a decent-sized town has to offer. I do wonder if, in time, it will change the dynamic of our community.

And now, we're all going to have to get used to using different routes to get back to the village. I'm sure that we'll adapt eventually...

Creeting St Peter - some thoughts from outside of the Parish Council box on Gateway 14

As the Chair of the Parish Council, my brief has been to stick very much to the Gateway 14 planning application itself, attempting to focus on what is in it, how it might best be altered, what is wrong with it, rather than the actual concept.

With that in mind, I encouraged the formation of a separate Campaign Group which could roam more freely without the limits that a Parish Council might feel to stay within, and they have really taken the ball and run with it, with a Twitter account and enthusiastic use of other social media. But it's more than just a mouthpiece, they've worked incredibly hard on taking the entire application apart to see how it might work (or not).

It's not easy, because understanding how the machinery of local government works, finding out who you need to talk to (and actually getting to talk to them) and creating an effective lobbying operation is something that is often left to the professionals. Instead, they have pretty much done it themselves, and been very effective. The signs, like the one shown above, are merely the visual element of their campaign, which has included effective media outreach.

Not only have they drawn up a comprehensive list of issues that will, or may, need to be addressed, but they've taken the question of the entire financial viability of the site and encouraged residents across what I might describe as the 'Greater Stowmarket' to hold their representatives to account.

You see, there is a genuine question as to whether or not this project is now too big to fail. The District Council spent a lot of money to purchase what was agricultural land with existing permission to build a business and logistics park, something in the order of £20 million apparently, and will need to spend almost as much on the infrastructure and mitigation. They do have the advantage of being able to borrow at rates that are rather less than commercial but it really does have to work, and if it doesn't, there's an uncomfortable sense that council tax payers across Mid Suffolk will be on the hook for some time to come.

And yes, they've been a bit unlucky. The site was purchased in 2017, and things have moved on a bit since then. Firstly, 2019 saw the balance of power on the Council shift significantly from huge Conservative majority to knife-edge (sixteen Conservatives and an Independent face twelve Greens and five Liberal Democrats), and then the small matter of a pandemic changed, potentially, everything. What will be needed in a post-Covid world? And will it be needed in Stowmarket?

The Campaign Group have written to every councillor on Mid Suffolk District Council with a series of challenging questions about the financial viability of the project and I admit that, if I was a Councillor, probably relying on the advice of the Council's Officers, I'd be a little nervous about what I was being asked to sign up to. I suspect that very few of the Councillors truly understand the possibilities, and some of them probably feel that they have little choice - there is little prospect of escaping the financial commitment, even if they were opposed to it in 2017.

Ultimately, I'd be surprised if the project was to be abandoned - there's too much at stake for that. But it's entirely possible that the District Council might be a little more wary in future, especially if Conservative councillors start being questioned on the doorstep and in their communities about what seem like eye-watering sums to the small towns and villages that make up Mid Suffolk.

But we'll see what effect they, and we, will have had soon enough. For the time being though, a community waits slightly nervously...

Gateway 14 - the response is written...

And so, the formal response is on its way, and I can relax just a little. Here's my summary of our thoughts as a Parish Council...

It would be fair to say that Creeting St Peter has lived with the prospect of development of the site for a quarter of a century or more, and we are realistic in terms of our expectation as to its future. However, we feel that there is an opportunity for the District Council to create something which is an exemplar in terms of the future of the workplace post-Covid, offers a positive experience not only to investors but to the workforce and reflects the villages and communities that surround it. 

The site itself is, we acknowledge, not an area of outstanding natural beauty but as part of the working countryside it serves as an escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life, both for its residents and for those who take advantage of the opportunities it offers. It is a refuge for flora and fauna that would otherwise be driven further into the margins. This will be lost, and not replaced. 

We are also concerned as to the effect that Gateway 14 will have on our hamlet village. The poor state of our road network, the risks of increased traffic flows through a village without a means of separating pedestrians from other road users, and the encroachment of the site, extending Stowmarket two-thirds of the way across the gap between town and hamlet, will impact on our community for many years to come. 

Under such circumstances, it is not unreasonable to ask what Mid Suffolk District Council is offering to our community in terms of benefits that might accrue. Simon Knott, the highly regarded chronicler of East Anglia’s churches, wrote of our Parish Church; 

“St Peter is separated from its village by the four lanes of the A14, the roar of which can be heard from the churchyard. How has this happened? Simply, Creeting St Peter consists mainly of council houses and farm cottages, working people’s houses. People like this do not get asked if they want a motorway at the bottom of the garden.” 

In this instance, whilst we acknowledge that we have been asked, we want to know that we are being listened to as well, and we trust that you will take our reasonable concerns into account in reaching a judgement on the acceptability of this planning application and the conditions you set upon it.

Drafting, drafting and more drafting - a Parish Chair and a planning application response...

It is, in all probability, the most challenging planning application that Creeting St Peter Parish Council has had to deal with in many a long year, and the stakes are high. A 156 hectare business and logistics park, featuring a range (in both senses of the word) of "megasheds" (as the Gateway 14 Residents Campaign Group refer to them) on the edge of our village is not something that a micro-parish such as ours is really equipped to deal with, given the imbalance of resourcing.

However, we are going to give it our best shot and, as Chair, I feel obliged to lead the effort. What is a Chair otherwise, if not to lead, after all?

But it is daunting, as I've noted previously. How do you balance the fears of the community against what is credible? What evidence is there, and can it be properly interpreted? Can you avoid mission creep, whereby existing problems are conflated with the possible but unevidenced impacts of the new development?

And so, I've spent a week mulling over our response, incorporating the contributions of my fellow councillors where I can, praying in aid the concerns of various statutory consultees - Natural England, Suffolk Highways, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust to name but three - and professional Council staff where their credibility is likely to be higher than ours but where their issues reflect ours.

It isn't easy. You have to create something which is likely to be taken seriously by the various councillors who sit on the Mid Suffolk Planning Committee, makes the points that really matter, but doesn't bury them in surplus verbiage. That isn't always one of my strengths - I tend to write like a slightly cautious Victorian bureaucrat. Given that I am a slightly cautious early twenty-first century bureaucrat, perhaps that shouldn't come as much of a surprise.

The fear is that, in attempting to be reasonable and realistic, you end up failing to sufficiently press the community's case but I have concluded that my only option is to be as true to my beliefs as possible and write a response which is honest, balanced and credible. At least, that's what I think it is.

We'll see soon enough, I guess...

Creeting St Peter - the learning curve doesn't get any less steep...

Small Parish Council, not much of a budget, nice bunch of fellow councillors, able Clerk, how difficult could that be, eh? Perhaps they'll write that on my tombstone when I'm gone.

And, indeed, most of the time, it's been pretty straightforward, keeping things ticking along, cleaning the odd road sign, signing the odd cheque. However, the arrival of a series of increasingly complex planning applications has caused me to find out more about local government than I had ever had a desperate urge to know.

Today saw me take part in a virtual meeting with the District Council and the developers, hosted by the Gateway 14 Campaign Group, to discuss the latest developments as part of a four-weekly cycle of discussions. It was my first, as I feel that I should give the Campaign Group the space to explore the wider issues as they choose, including some that don't necessarily impact on my responsibility as the Chair of a statutory consultee.

The big developments have been the submission of the hybrid planning application and the announcement that the site is to be part of the Freeport East bid. It was confirmed that, as far as Mid Suffolk District Council are concerned, there will be no impact on the S.106 funding that the project will generate, which is welcome news.

It does strike me that there is a great deal of uncertainty in terms of the impact of the Freeport bid. We now know that the entire 156 ha site will be included in the tax site which, whilst interesting, doesn't have a huge impact on the current application. However, the question of the customs site is somewhat more complex, and that's important, because it will need "robust perimeter security measures such as fences, controlled access gates and lighting".

We were assured that this area won't be that large, although the bidding prospectus notes that part of the customs site will need to be designated as a temporary storage area, as per the standard United Kingdom customs import rules. Now, given that one of the potential types of occupiers would be businesses assembling products using components produced abroad, there might be more or less space required. That in turn potentially impacts on access, in particular the footpath that has been rerouted through the northern part of the site.

That offers a challenge, because we may need to seek planning conditions that will address the possibility that the footpath might require diverting again, for example.

And that, of course, sums up the challenges of a hybrid planning application - you're attempting to nail a jelly to a wall, as you don't know what the site will eventually look like, because that in turn depends on who turns up as a potential customer and what their needs are. It is all too easy to let your imagination run riot, and to experience mission creep. As a statutory consultee, should I worry about the financial viability of the site, or whether or not it provides value for money? As a council tax payer, I probably should.

But the next stage is an Extraordinary Meeting of the Parish Council to discuss the planning application on Monday. I've got a lot of documents to read before then, and it's not likely to be an easy meeting, even though there is unlikely to be anyone saying that we should just ignore it...

Freeport East - the bid has landed

I've already mentioned the Freeport East proposal (coming to a parish near you very soon), and it has now been formally launched, with a rather soft focus video, and lots of talk about jobs, development and innovation. And, I have to say that it all looks very impressive.

So, what might it mean for our community, given that a major tax and customs site will be located on the edge of the Parish (we're the teal coloured circle towards the top of the map)?

I'll set aside the planning application for the time being.

Stowmarket, our neighbouring town is a bit of a poor relation to its neighbours, as an industrial hub and railway junction. Aspiration is not as high as it might be, although unemployment rates are low. An innovation hub may attract new industries, and offer better paid jobs to a town that has little in the way of attractions - we only got our first McDonalds last year, and fine dining is predominantly (although not wholly) something you leave town for. The shopping area is a bit limited, compared to similar sized towns and, in short, if you've got money to spend, you'd probably go to Bury St Edmunds or Norwich.

On the plus side, housing is reasonably priced even for Suffolk, transport links are good, with express trains to Norwich and London, plus regional services linking Ipswich with Cambridge and Peterborough. Throw in the A14, and you can get quite a long way quite easily.

In short, there is potential that could be unlocked by a successful bid that lives up to the hype.

The proposed location of the only tax and customs site outside the ports of Harwich and Felixstowe themselves, Gateway 14 is ideally located between the mainline railway and the A14, both of which act to frame the site, so providing a direct link to a major trunk road linking Felixstowe and Harwich with Cambridge and the Midlands.

Do I wish that it was further away, less immediate? Well, yes - I like the setting of my village as it is. But that isn't a viable stance, the site has been earmarked for developed for three decades now, and if I were a developer, it is exactly the sort of location I would want to get my hands on. And, as someone who wants the best for the wider Mid Suffolk community, an  influx of potentially well-paid jobs in innovative industries and technologies can only improve the lives of local residents, encourage new retail and cultural opportunities and support new facilities.

That offers me two contrasting challenges. As the Chair of the Parish Council, I want to seek a design for the development that makes it less intrusive on the eye, protects our rights of access and reduces the impact on residents (particularly those whose properties will be right up against the boundary of the site). I also have to have an eye on what possible benefits that might accrue to the community - new street lights, perhaps, or road improvements that improve traffic flow and reduce the need for braking. Will there be benefits in terms of s.106 funding?

As a council tax payer, I want the development to be as efficient as possible, in terms of generating revenue for the District Council, who own it, and in terms of bringing quality jobs to the area. I do wonder if the somewhat limited ambition of the developers, who talk about logistics and distribution, matches up with the aspirations of the Freeport team, who talk about innovation, green energy, and links to the universities across the region.

The former challenge is an immediate one - a hybrid planning application is all about setting down a marker in terms of landscaping, transport plans and building heights. In fairness, I tend to the view that the landscaping is pretty generous, and the potential road network offers some decided advantages in terms of addressing long existing issues such as the sharp curve at Clamp Farm. The proposed building heights are a significant improvement on what was originally suggested, but whilst 21 metres is still pretty intrusive, it may be difficult to reduce that much further. The devil will be in the detail, and the detail is a Parish Council issue.

As for what ends up on the site, the idea of large sheds is a bit depressing, but each of them will be the subject of a rather more concrete planning application, open to challenge. And, as it isn't clear who will want to take up the space, it is conjecture to start visualising the site as it might look in ten years time. Ironically, the Freeport East Board will probably have a lot to say about what their priorities are for potential customers, and my initial impression from sources is that their view is somewhat different to that of Jaynic, the developers appointed by Mid Suffolk District Council to manage and promote the site. It isn't a Parish Council issue, however, although the Campaign Group will be addressing the question, as I understand it.

So, my challenge is to keep the two issues at arms length from each other, focussing on what we know and are being asked to judge, as opposed to what might or might not be at some point in the undefined future. Fortunately, I've got Ros to ensure that my concentration doesn't wander...

When Freeports attack... and why I'm annoyed with Mid Suffolk District Council

So, what do we now know? A hybrid planning application was submitted for the Gateway 14 project a week or so ago, and the one hundred and fifty plus documents are awaiting our attention, with a current publicised deadline of 17 February for responses. As you might understand, that feels rather daunting.

We now also know that Gateway 14 is intended to form an integral part of the Freeport East bid, centred on Felixstowe and Harwich, which is due to be submitted to the Government by Friday, February 5th (i.e. today). it even comes with a rather snazzy video...

Does the planning application make any reference to this? No, of course it doesn't and, as a result, I've had what I would describe as a challenging conversation with Nic Rumsey from the developers, Jaynic, who appear not to have known anything about this until a week ago. I've had a very good relationship with him so far but he gives the impression of attempting to tapdance on the head of a pin, as he can't honestly give any guarantees about what Freeport status might imply. I don't blame him for that, because how could he? 

Have the owners of Gateway 14, effectively the District Council, mentioned this at all? Not to us, they haven't. One must assume that they have been talking to other interested parties about this - East Suffolk Council, Suffolk County Council and the like, and that the bidding team for the Freeport proposal will have at the very least mentioned potential adoption of the Gateway 14 site as the location for a customs site.

And yet, they have allowed the planning application to proceed thus far as though none of that was happening.

I am not impressed.

I have been concerned for some time with regard to the conflict of interest between Mid Suffolk District Council as owner and 100% beneficiary of the profits accruing from Gateway 14, and Mid Suffolk District Council as the planning authority responsible for consideration of the planning application. I am assured that no such conflict applies, and that the planning process is entirely independent. Of course, that is legally true, although many local residents don't believe it for one minute, fairly or unfairly.

From a personal perspective, as a professional bureaucrat myself, I tend to the view that Council officers will do the best that they can. Indeed, given that other developers may wish to make applications for similar projects, setting the wrong precedent makes their lives more difficult going forward.

But, if it is the case that someone at Mid Suffolk District Council is negotiating with the Freeport East team over inclusion of the Gateway 14 site, they might reasonably have an idea as to the potential impact, but are choosing to remain silent. That might be due to commercial confidentiality - the Freeport bids are competitive, after all - but if there is an impact on the site, and adjustments need to be made that affect residents of Creeting St Peter, it would be nice to know now, rather than later, so that we can respond appropriately.

So far, the discussions revolving around the Gateway 14 project have taken place within a promise of openness and transparency, and local residents have engaged in that spirit. And so far, whilst there are elements that are unpopular, there have been useful adjustments and improvements to the original plans which have gone some way towards reassuring us.

It now seems apparent that Mid Suffolk District Council might not be able to be relied upon to uphold their end of that bargain, and my fear is that the sense of mutual respect might be jeopardised as a result. Residents of Creeting St Peter are, I believe, realistic about the likely outcome, but want their concerns to be heard and at least acknowledged, and for credible mitigations to be offered, so far as is practical. 

Therefore, my next task will be to seek reassurances about the impact of potential Freeport status on the development in advance of the Parish Council's Extraordinary meeting on Monday week.

It's a very steep learning curve for a small Parish Council and its Chair...

A freeport for Creeting St Peter - not as unlikely as it sounds...

One of the Government's more interesting ideas is the creation of a number of freeports around the country. According to the consultation document issued last year;

Because freeports still offer that same story of trade and prosperity across the modern world. From the UAE to the USA, China to California, global freeports support jobs, trade and investment. They serve as humming hubs of high-quality manufacturing, titans of trans-shipment and warehouses for wealth-creating goods and services. The UK will recreate the best aspects of international freeports in the brand-new, best-in-class, bespoke model set out in the following pages.

I admit that, when this was first signalled, I didn't pay it an awful lot of attention - after all, why would Creeting St Peter be in the frame? And, besides, it wasn't anywhere near as radical an idea as was being touted - we'd had freeports, and they weren't that fantastic for, if they had been, we'd hardly have gotten rid of them.

But, suddenly, our business and enterprise park problem is now potentially a freeport problem, as East Suffolk Council announced their support for "Freeport East", based on the ports of Felixstowe and Harwich but with the added element of the Gateway 14 project as the freeport hinterland. This does raise some interesting questions.

Firstly, it does make the project potentially much more viable, as the site can now offer something that local competition can't, which in turn accelerates the likely timetable for development - we had been led to believe until now that it might take 10-15 years for the site to be fully developed.

The park will need to be secure though, as stated in Paragraph 3.11 of the Government's response to their consultation;

Although a few respondents (24%) advocated using technology instead of physical fences, the government considers a physical perimeter to be a robust solution. However, we welcome the inclusion of additional technology as part of the security process and would encourage bidders to set out what they can achieve. Additionally, the government remains open to exploring alternative security measures in the future if they can be demonstrated to be effective and not burdensome for businesses.

which leads to an interesting problem for us in the village, as our only direct access to Stowmarket and the A14 westbound is currently intended to bisect the development. Is that viable, given that it will risk cutting the site into two discrete parts? And, if not, what happens to us, and what will be the impact on traffic levels through the village?

The development may also be far more disruptive to local residents, as it will have a far higher proportion of logistics space, with resultant higher volumes of heavy goods traffic and the likelihood of noise and light pollution around the clock.

To make matters worse, the hybrid planning application for the Gateway 14 development landed just over a week ago, and the formal consultation process closes on 17 February. Can anyone really say if the plans as currently published are suitable for a freeport when the Government hasn't even determined exactly how they will work yet?

I have a bad feeling about this...

Is Mid Suffolk District Council really committed to its sustainable travel policy? We may be about to find out...

Regular readers will know that I take a particular interest in buses, possibly because I am a non-driver. In London, that was just fine - why would you have a car in inner London when traffic speeds are glacial and there’s an excellent public transport system? Out here in the Suffolk countryside, it offers rather more of a challenge.

Creeting St Peter saw its last scheduled bus service in 2011, not that it impinged upon anyone’s consciousness. Indeed, when I raised it at an early Parish Council meeting, my fellow councillors didn’t seem to know that it existed, perhaps because it ran on Thursdays only with just one journey in each direction between Stowmarket and the Creetings. We do have demand responsive transport, but it is likewise little known about, which does make it a bit easier for me to use it as part of my usual route to work. But I digress...

The new business and enterprise park on the edge of the Parish is to be managed by a development company on behalf of its 100% owner, Mid Suffolk District Council. It promises, or at least, promised up to 4,500 new jobs which, on the face of it, is a good thing - we can argue about the quality of those jobs another day. And it struck me that having a bus link to Stowmarket would be a good thing, given that it’s more than one mile from the station to the nearest point of the development.

Coincidentally, in July the District Council agreed to create a “Sustainable Travel Action Plan” so you might think that, if you were going to bring 4,500 workers to an edge of town location, encouraging public transport use might fit neatly into that. Indeed, I found myself wondering if such a link could be extended to serve Creeting St Peter and Stowupland (which is growing fast and lost its regular bus service a few years ago) in a circular route to link up with Stowmarket station and the town centre.

It is now clear that there is no intention to make provision for public transport - I asked and have a written answer from the development company to that effect, which rather disappoints me. The justification is that there is a bus stop within 400 metres of the entrance to the development - the fact that two of the six services that serve the stop run on a Thursday only, and two others are school services appears to have passed them by. And so, I’m going to have to challenge the District Council to “put their money where their mouth is” in terms of the environment and sustainability, and to adhere to the policies they themselves set.

It is unacceptable in the modern era to build a development which effectively obliges its workforce to drive. Given that the employees won’t just come from Stowmarket and the surrounding villages - the population couldn’t supply 4,500 additional workers even if it wanted to - there will be significant increases in traffic, air pollution and noise, and any mitigation that might reduce traffic volumes would be welcome.

Ironically, the development company have been quite responsive in other areas, so it would be nice if they could be persuaded to improve this aspect. We’ll just have to see, I guess...

Creeting St Peter and the Probable Development (part 1)

The consultation process between Jaynic, the developers acting for Mid Suffolk District Council, and our Parish Council, began last night. And so, perhaps I ought to report back...

The first thing to note is, slightly surprisingly, that there appears to be no hard and fast idea as to what will go on the site and where, contrary to the impression given by the material circulated by their communications consultants. Yes, enormous logistics sheds might well emerge, but until customers actually turn up, nobody really knows - the talk is of bespoke development, i.e. the customer will say what they want and, if a deal is agreed, it gets built.

From the perspective of a statutory consultee, i.e. the Parish Council, that offers an interesting challenge. Whilst we might have a clear idea what we wouldn't like, there isn't anything concrete to object to... yet. Thus, it seems as though the obvious strategy for us is to talk about infrastructure and traffic management, and that is what we mainly focused upon.

We were told that there was no expectation of significant additional traffic on Mill Lane between Clamp Farm and the Creetings, yet the modelling hasn't been done yet, and there is an apparent sense that nearby bus stops imply that there are buses. I'm not really sure how to break it to them that the bus service consists of one bus on weekday mornings to Stowmarket, plus a mid-morning bus on a Thursday, and one bus on weekday evenings to Stowupland. And, indeed, the "bus" is a minibus.

However, this is part of what happens later. What is expected to happen first is that construction of the site's road network will be an early part of what we see. An indicative timeline exists and, if met, will see the road network, including a new link from near Clamp Farm to the roundabout opposite Tesco, completed by Spring/Summer 2022. The obvious benefits include taking heavy lorries from our friendly neighbourhood concrete products factory away from Cedars Park, and providing easier and more direct access to Tesco and Stowmarket for residents of the Creetings.

It's rather harder to see the benefits for residents of the cluster of properties at Clamp Farm, upon whose doorstep the new development will be. What ends up being built on the north-east quadrant of the site could be anything from a big logistics shed to a collection of smaller light industrial buildings. And yes, a "planted, landscaped mound" will provide a "significant visual buffer" between Clamp Farm and the development, but residents have been hurt before by that phrase (the Poundfield Products equivalent has never really lived up to expectations), so the proof will be in the pudding there.

We touched upon the Amenity and Biodiversity Zone, and to be honest, I'm not really sure what they mean by that, except to note that it is intended to compensate for the loss of wildlife habitat caused by the development. It would be nice if access to the river path was improved, and that will be a question for the actual planning application.

The question of the rerouting of the footpath that currently runs through the middle of the site, linking Creeting St Peter with Cedars Park, is up for discussion as well. The current proposal is to squeeze the footpath between whatever emerges in the north-eastern quadrant and the A14, and I can't help but feel that this offers a rather gloomy trudge compared to routing it around the southern edge, which would at least offer farmland on one side. And, to be frank, people walking that route aren’t going to Cedars Park, they're heading for Tesco and onwards to Stowmarket.

The roadside area is intended for, possibly, a petrol station, a hotel, a pub, some drive through fast food and, perhaps, some retail outlet(s). We'd been expecting that, given the previous planning application for that corner, so no great surprises there.

And now for a hostage to fortune of a sort. The developers and their supporting cast seem to be as reasonable as you might optimistically expect. That's not to say that they will agree to everything or, indeed, anything we would like, but the conversation was courteous, professional and, I believe, honest, and we came away with a better understanding of the project, regardless of any personal misgivings we may have.

Things will move fast too. The community consultation phase ends in just over a fortnight, and what is known as a hybrid planning application is expected to be submitted to Mid Suffolk District Council at the turn of the year. That application will cover the road network, utilities, and landscaping in detail, whilst the remainder will "establish key parameters for the development such as the maximum building height and amount of floorspace to be delivered, with the final details to be subject to further stages of design should planning permission be received.". And yes, there will be further planning applications specific to each building, or group of buildings, as it reaches the drawing board.

Next week will see an opportunity for residents to ask questions by way of a Zoom conference, with yours truly in the chair. The developers have asked to see questions in advance, suggesting that by doing so they will be able to provide fuller responses, and we've agreed to that as part of a collaborative approach to widening the consultation.

I take the view that, whilst the Parish Council should engage in a formal capacity with the project, it is vital that residents express their concerns in their own language rather than rely on us to interpret and prioritise their messages. We'll do our level best to represent our community, but our neighbours have their own perspectives and will have their own preferences for how those are conveyed. I also think that more individual comments give a better idea of the depth of feeling amongst us.

There will be much for the Parish Council to think about, and to respond to, over the coming months and, indeed, years. Given that we are five volunteers, supported by a part-time, albeit highly professional Parish Clerk, it will offer a significant challenge to our ability to scrutinise and question as the development proceeds. And therefore, the interest, knowledge and ideas of the village community as a whole will be core to our effort, and I thank everyone in anticipation.

Creeting St Peter: a plucky community faces a District Council over Gateway 14

One of the things that makes me most nervous about being the Chair of a Parish Council is managing expectation. Because, in truth, we don’t have much power. If somebody really wants to do something we don’t like, or don’t want, most of the levers of power are in the hands of someone else.

For example, if there is a planning application that impacts dramatically on the village, we might be statutory consultees, but it’s the District Council who make the planning decision. Now, you might reasonably note that even they have limits on their power, most of them statutory but others practical, but theoretically, as long as they adhere to planning law, they have the final say. It becomes more complex when they are, effectively, the applicant too.

Which brings me to Gateway 14...

Parish Council met yesterday evening, under my watchful eye as Chair, with the main item on the agenda our initial response to the consultation exercise initiated by the developer tasked by Mid Suffolk District Council to draw up the plans for the site. There is some pressure upon us to move fast - the consultation period ends on 31 October, and they will then move towards a planning application - so attention to detail is critical.

And there are some rather troubling aspects to the initial draft, in that the suggestion is for rather more in the way of “big logistics sheds” than had previously been the case when previous developers had been offering proposals. These buildings would be very hard to hide, and act as an ugly scar on the landscape. Mind you, given that the sites fall away quite significantly, you do wonder how appropriate they are for such buildings.

There are questions of pedestrian access and existing footpaths, the impact on the clutch of residential properties at Clamp Farm, and of noise and light pollution. We’re also unconvinced that the project is ever going to be environmentally sustainable, with public transport access currently irrelevant and the expectation that most workers on the site will drive, requiring significant (and costly) amounts of parking.

The other problem we have is how to ensure that everyone has a decent opportunity to engage with the project. The developers have sent a glossy, but actually quite fair, document to all residents, inviting them to interact, but you do need to organise that. We, as the Parish Council, want to know what individual residents care about, whilst encouraging them to raise their own issues in their own way.

Our thought is to organise some sort of exhibition, although COVID-19 makes that potentially difficult. We’re also keen to arrange Zoom presentations for both the Parish Council and residents - acknowledging that for those less enthusiastic about, or uncomfortable using, the internet, an online presentation isn’t very inclusive.

So, we’ll issue a newsletter, invite comment, and try to make such arrangements as to allow residents to have their say and to make a contribution - we do know the patch, and are realistic enough to understand that whilst the project can’t simply be opposed, by engaging positively, we are more likely to achieve our aspirations for our community.

For example, might a bus service, linking the development with both Stowmarket and Creeting St Peter, be a runner, especially if it was routed towards Stowupland as well? Could we alter the road layout to take the traffic a little further away from the homes at Clamp Farm whilst improving the sight lines for drivers? What else might we achieve?

So, much to do, especially for our Clerk, I’m afraid. But there’s no time like the present...

Creeting St Peter - development looms at Gateway 14

The aerial view shown is of the outline of the proposed Gateway 14 development, all of which is on land that, not so long ago, fell wholly with the parish boundaries of Creeting St Peter. Alright, it isn't obviously scenic, although it's rich farmland, with excellent arable yields in a normal year. The village itself is out of shot, although not as far as I would frankly prefer, off to the top left hand edge of the picture.

What the site is though, is well-connected. That's the A14 running diagonally across the bottom right hand quadrant, and paralleling it in the top right hand quadrant is the East Anglian Main Line railway. When you think of it, it's pretty amazing that it hasn't been built all over already but, whilst there have been various proposals, some of which have made it as far as initial planning approval, nothing has ever actually happened. Until now...

Apparently, Gateway 14 is...

...set to become the destination of choice along the A14 corridor and will consist of a mixed-use, market facing business park for warehousing and logistics with an innovation cluster within the “space to innovate” enterprise zone. The strategic aim is to benefit the wider economic area of Mid Suffolk, especially the growth of creative and technology businesses in the area, while also maximising opportunities for inward investment, job creation and wider community benefits.

It is intended that the main infrastructure will commence by Spring 2021 so that occupation can start in early 2022.

The draft masterplans show how the site could accommodate logistics buildings up to 1,000,000 sq ft, with roadside / retail uses (subject to planning) along the A14 frontage as well as the ability to accommodate headquarters office/R&D campus style buildings from 3,000 sq ft.

Sounds ghastly, doesn't it, but I acknowledge that the language is designed to attract potential customers, rather than charm local residents.

What it means is that, as a Parish Council, we are going to have to deal with the impact of a major development, almost certainly without any support which, for a council which consists of five people, a clerk and an annual precept of £5,500, is going to be a bit of a challenge. Better still, having received a briefing note from the company "facilitating public consultation on behalf of Gateway 14 Ltd" on Monday, we are informed that the community engagement phase will end on 31 October. I can't say that I'm wildly encouraged.

Indeed, this is all going to happen very quickly;

• SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 - Community and stakeholder engagement on draft plans
• AUTUMN 2020 - Consider feedback and finalise plans
• WINTER 2020 - Submit hybrid planning application to Mid Suffolk District Council (MSDC)
• WINTER 2020 - Formal period of public consultation (run by MSDC)
• EARLY 2021 - Application determined by MSDC
• SPRING 2021 - Detailed designs and layout drawn up
• SPRING 2021 - Commence infrastructure on site
• 2021 - Submit detailed planning application(s) to MSDC 

There are, already, some concerns on my part. Our pedestrian access to Stowmarket appears, on the face of the draft plot layout plan, to have been diverted significantly to run alongside the A14, thus lengthening the distance, and making it much less attractive to walkers, and the new link road will doubtless lead to significant volumes of traffic on the narrow road that links Creeting St Peter to both Stowmarket and Needham Market. And, perhaps more importantly, there will be a major development filling half of the current gap between Stowmarket and our village. Logistics buildings mean lorries coming to and from, presumably 24/7, which in turn means noise, bright lights and pollution.

I might reasonably ask, "What's in it for us?", and the answer will doubtless be jobs and facilities. Admittedly, those jobs will be for people travelling from further afield than the Creetings, and given the dreadful public transport links, they'll all be driving, but Mid Suffolk District Council Conservatives are generally pro-business, so they won't concern themselves too much about that. Besides, as they own the development, and hope to profit from it, there's little incentive to do anything much to mollify us.

Ah well, we'd better get to work, I suppose...