Summary of the RAF Mildenhall engagement sessions (June 2016)
Background
Forest Heath District Council (the Council) held three public engagement sessions and one session with local businesses to discuss local concerns and priorities regarding the future of the RAF Mildenhall airbase. The sessions were held to help ensure that the Council and the local communities and businesses are well placed to get the best possible economic, social and environmental outcomes from the site after the U.S Air Force (USAF) withdraw in 2022/23.
The engagement sessions were attended by residents, community groups, parish councils, local businesses, Suffolk County Council, property developers, registered housing providers and letting agents.
Cllr James Waters (Council Leader) and Jill Korwin (Director) provided stakeholders with the latest update regarding the U.S withdrawal from RAF Mildenhall followed by discussions covering the following topics:
- concerns regarding USAF withdrawal and recent announcements; - what do we want a future use for RAF Mildenhall to achieve? Focused on; o economic growth; o housing; o leisure, health and wellbeing; and o education and skills; - immediate and long term priorities for the District Council.
Thanks to Government funding the Council has commissioned external advisors to develop a prospectus and vision for the future of RAF Mildenhall and the notes from the engagement sessions will support this work. The consultants will provide external challenge, commercial insight, and market expertise and will provide an independent assessment of some of the ideas that have been suggested as a future use for the airbase, to see if they are deliverable.
Below is a summary of the engagement sessions. This does not necessarily represent the views of the Council.
1. Concerns regarding USAF withdrawal and recent announcements
Lack of information and uncertainty regarding the withdrawal from RAF Mildenhall.
- The inconsistent messages and lack of information available in the public domain regarding the USAF withdrawal from RAF Mildenhall was seen as an issue at both the public and business sessions. Unfortunately the gap in regular updates had led to several rumours circulating regarding the potential for the U.S. Government to change their plans and instead remain operational at RAF Mildenhall. These rumours were based on the 2016 U.S Presidential election campaign and the policy changes that could be implemented by the new president. - The continued uncertainty regarding the RAF Mildenhall withdrawal plans were also having a knock on effect for local businesses that regularly provided their services to the airbase. - A gap was also identified regarding the information in the public domain regarding the value and condition of the land and assets on the RAF Mildenhall airbase. The airbase has been operational for many years so on the one hand there were comments regarding aviation spills and land contamination and on the other hand there were comments regarding the value of the health, leisure and retail assets to the north of the airbase and how they could be of value to the local community.
Future use of the Mildenhall airbase
- The recent Government announcement regarding a large housing development at RAF Mildenhall had created significant concern regarding the amount of infrastructure required to support such a development. It should be noted that Forest Heath District Council is the local planning authority and has not given planning permission for this. Nor has it received a planning application for the site. The MoD has since put out a correction via the media, acknowledging that it doesn’t have planning permission after all. - Access to the airbase from the A11 is available through the Mildenhall town centre and attendees were worried about the transport infrastructure in and around Mildenhall to support additional traffic movements from planned development to the west of Mildenhall and from a future use for the RAF Mildenhall site. - The future use of RAF Mildenhall is seen locally as a fantastic opportunity. However many residents and local businesses were concerned about the time it would take to bring forward a new use for the site after the USAF depart. The strong message from the sessions was to complete the planning work in advance so that work could start straight away in 2022/23.
Impact on public funding and public services
- Attendees from the public sector and local business spoke about the change in population following the departure of the USAF from RAF Mildenhall. The transition would bring new demand on public services with no funding to support the need for new infrastructure. In addition to this there was disquiet among residents regarding the future proofing that was being completed as part of current public sector projects, for example the planning for the Mildenhall Hub development.
RAF Lakenheath - The Council was encouraged by attendees to continue with their focus on RAF Mildenhall but reminded not to forget about the impact of the expansion at RAF Lakenheath. Attendees also commented on the impact of the RAF Lakenheath expansion being completed ahead of the RAF Mildenhall closure and the impact this could have on schools and other local infrastructure, transport for example.
2. What do we want a future use for RAF Mildenhall to achieve?
Attendees at both the public and business engagement sessions recognised that RAF Mildenhall is ideally placed to accommodate several different options; defence, aviation, housing, research park, mixed use etc. However the engagement session groups discussed the merits of various opportunities and some of the outcomes that could be achieved; summarised below.
Vision
- The future use of RAF Mildenhall was seen locally as an opportunity to create a new vision and identity for Mildenhall and the surrounding area. Many said that it presented an opportunity to put Mildenhall on the map. However, there were concerns raised regarding the infrastructure required to support such a development and the impact this could have on viability. - To support the viability assessment of a future development the infrastructure (road, rail, health and education) on and around the site must be considered at an early stage of the masterplanning process. - Attendees at the engagement sessions supported the early work being completed by the Council to create a local vision for the airbase. However, many also said that the various options, for example aviation or mixed use, must be stringently assessed to ensure decision makers understand the impact and benefit of the opportunities.
Economic growth
- There was a strong message from the engagement sessions regarding support for a continued aviation use at RAF Mildenhall; air freight for example. Aircraft operations have been taking place at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath for many years and for the majority of representatives it was seen as the norm and should be continued. With the information currently available, this opportunity was considered by many attendees to be the most feasible as the infrastructure for aviation is already available on the airbase. In addition to this an aviation use was considered to be of high value as it would bring high skilled employment and education facilities to the local area. - Many of the attendees recognised the success of Cambridge and the potential to provide employment land at RAF Mildenhall to attract new businesses to the local area. However, this opportunity was also met with hesitation as some attendees could not see how a business park model at RAF Mildenhall could compete with Cambridge, especially with poor road and rail links to the site.
Housing
- The engagement session groups discussed potential housing development on the RAF Mildenhall and some of the outcomes that would need to be achieved. Attendees spoke about the need for mixed housing to ensure the development of balanced communities. In addition to this some attendees spoke about the housing being used for people that can’t afford to live in Cambridge. However, this was suggestion was also met with concerns as many spoke negatively about commuter towns and the lack of transport infrastructure to support additional traffic movement on the A11 towards Cambridge. - The need for sustainable housing growth was also a key message from groups at the engagement sessions as there were concerns that a housing development could flood the housing market and put pressure on local infrastructure. - Any housing or employment-led development at RAF Mildenhall would need to go through a masterplan process, however residents of the villages surrounding RAF Mildenhall spoke about the need to retain the existing community identities at Beck Row, Mildenhall and West Row and not to see this as an opportunity to link all three as one settlement.
Leisure, Health and Wellbeing
- Residents at the engagement sessions spoke about the lack of health and retail facilities in Mildenhall and the surrounding area and therefore the need to travel to other towns to shop and access health services. Subsequently one of the key messages was the need for Mildenhall and the surrounding villages to be self-sufficient so that residents can work, spend and access services in Mildenhall and the surrounding area. - Although residents of Beck Row, Mildenhall and West Row spoke about the need to retain community identity, they also spoke about the opportunity to improve transport links, not only road but also cycling. In addition to this the natural areas on RAF Mildenhall bring new opportunities for walking and open space which would improve health and wellbeing outcomes in the local area. - The retail opportunities presented as part of a future redevelopment at RAF Mildenhall were also spoken about by attendees, not just for generic retail but also to give Mildenhall a leisure and retail identify, for example as a retail outlet.
Education and skills
- Attendees at the engagement sessions recognised that a mixed use development at RAF Mildenhall or future aviation use for the site would bring highly skilled labour and high quality jobs to Forest Heath. The jobs should be filled by local people and therefore advanced planning would be needed by local education providers to create the right skills to support new employment. It was agreed that this presented an opportunity for improved aspirations and increased educational attainment in Mildenhall.
3. Priorities
Attendees suggested that the Council prioritise the following actions:
Engagement
- Consider additional methods for engaging with local residents and businesses. For example, newspapers, social media, parish newsletters, schools and attending other community meetings, for example Community Action Suffolk bi-monthly meeting. - Continue to engage with the community and local businesses and ensure timely distribution of information.
Vision
- Create and consult on the vision for the future of RAF Mildenhall. - Review the infrastructure requirements as part of the development of options. For example, a potential A11/A14 link to support new and existing business and housing developments. - Gain an understanding of the site assets and levels of land contamination. - Learn from case studies from the release and redevelopment of MOD land, for example at Alconbury, Waterbeach and Bentwaters.
Some of the questions from the engagement sessions have been answered in a Frequently Asked Questions document. See www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/usaf for FAQs and the latest update regarding RAF Mildenhall.
Corporate Policy June 2016