BURY ST EDMUNDS: Development to include a new school
By Laurence Cawley
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
10:21 AM
PEOPLE living near a site earmarked for 900 homes fear the development will trigger traffic gridlock.
Countryside Properties hopes to build hundreds of new homes between the western part of Bury St Edmunds and Fornham All Saints.
Plans drawn up so far include about 900 homes, a new school, green spaces and employment areas.
However, some fear the development, which will come off two roads – Tut Hill and Mildenhall Road – could make existing traffic issues worse in the area and cause motorists to “rat run” through the estates.
Countryside say they are investigating residents’ concerns and awaiting the results of a traffic study being carried out by Suffolk County Council, which they hope will identify ways of improving on the current plans.
Ernie Broom, chairman of the Howard Estate Association of Residents and Tenants (HEART), said Mildenhall Road – which will be the key link between the development site and Bury town centre – was already very busy especially at rush hours.
He said the extra traffic from 900 new homes risked gridlocking the road, which in turn would lead to extra traffic going through the Mildenhall and Howard estates as drivers try to “rat run” their way around Mildenhall Road.
Jeremy Dodd, spokesman for Countryside, said: “Countryside Properties is already planning to provide a link road between Mildenhall Road and Tut Hill to relieve some of the traffic running through Fornham All Saints.
“The company is also further assessing the traffic impact of the development on the surrounding road network.
“Separately and additionally we understand that there is a county council-led traffic modelling exercise that is looking at the impact of growth over the next 15 years, which probably forms part of the area action plan that the council has undertaken to produce.
“The timescale for this seems unclear, and Countryside Properties want to see this as soon as possible, so that we can identify which works are required going forward to improve the situation.”
Mark Ereira, one of the councillors representing the Tower division on the county council, said residents were concerned about the scheme’s reliance on Mildenhall Road. He also said that plans were being made for a meeting between HEART, himself and Bury St Edmunds MP David Ruffley for next month for the issues to be discussed.
