Appeal withdrawn over refusal of up to 485 homes and relief road on land off Newmarket Road in Bury St Edmunds - but third application still active

A planning appeal over the refusal of long-running proposals for hundreds of homes and a relief road on the edge of Bury St Edmunds has been withdrawn – but another application for the site remains active.

Pigeon Investment Management Ltd has submitted three applications since 2019 for land off Newmarket Road, including up to 485 homes and a relief road.

The first application was withdrawn due to concerns by West Suffolk Council that it did not deliver a complete relief road due to ownership of the land.

While the second scheme did commit to a full relief road, it was refused for reasons including an unacceptable relief road design and a failure to protect the identity of Westley. An appeal to the planning inspector was launched in June but has since been withdrawn.

However, a hybrid application for the site, submitted on May 15, remains active.

It includes a full planning application for the construction of new junction works with Newmarket Road and construction of associated adjacent drainage basin, as well as an outline planning application for the construction of a relief road and up to 485 dwellings including provision of pedestrian and cycle connections, open space, landscaping and associated infrastructure.

A planning statement from agent Turley said the third application was a revised scheme to address the council’s concerns, including removing all land to the south which was outside of Pigeon’s control.

It said the land for the relief road was in two separate ownerships.

“As per the initial application, this amended scheme makes appropriate provision to ensure that the relief road can be delivered comprehensively and that it does not prejudice the delivery of the southern part of the road, when that landowner is able to bring forward their element of the scheme,” it said.

“Therefore, while the application proposals do not propose the entire delivery of the relief road, the section within the control of the applicant has been brought forward in a co-ordinated manner, which will enable the policy objective to be realised in full and in accordance with the site-wide masterplan document.”

It said the applicant remained committed to working with the neighbouring landowner to deliver the complete relief road in due course.

The applicant will commit to a financial contribution to fund the delivery of the remaining southern section of the relief road and to indemnify the council for the costs of acquiring the land compulsorily if required.

The statement added that approving the amended scheme would not prejudice the delivery of the southern section of the relief road as it had ‘sufficient built in flexibility to enable a viable connection with the southern section when and wherever required’.

However, planning policy comments on the application said: “The impacts of the relief road should be addressed in any application and the absence of the road in its entirety undermines this infrastructure-led development.”

Suffolk County Council (SCC), as local highway authority, recommended permission be refused due to failure to evidence that the development would not have an unacceptable impact on highway safety, or that the residual cumulative impacts on the road network would not be severe.

Westley Parish Council is opposing the hybrid application.

It said: “The planning application does not provide an unequivocal guarantee that the relief road will be delivered in its entirety alongside any construction of housing.

“Westly Parish Council expects the delivery of the entire relief road to be a prerequisite of any development as determined in the current Local Plan.”

Bury Town Council recommended refusal following reports from SCC Highways and the Environment Agency relating to traffic and drainage issues, concerns the buffer zone was insufficient and the proposed relief road was inadequate.

The proposed development site, known as Bury West, was identified in 2014 in the Vision 2031 blueprint for housing.