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3. Existing Land Uses and Activities

3.1 Introduction

3.1.1 This Chapter presents a summary of the predominant existing land uses and activities currently occurring on and around the Site. This Chapter also describes the key environmental characteristics of the Site and its adjacent

areas in relation to the technical topics considered within this ES, thereby identifying environmental resources or

receptors which may be affected by the Development. An overview of sensitive environmental resources /

receptors is provided in Table 3.1.

3.1.2 A full description of the baseline conditions relevant to each technical assessment undertaken as part of the EIA

is provided within ES Volume 1, Chapters 7 to 15.

3.2 Location and Setting

3.2.1 The Site is located on land south of the A14, east of the A1120 and north of the B1113 at Creeting St Peter near

Stowmarket, within the administrative boundary of MSDC. Site location is shown on Figure 1.2.

3.2.2 The existing 67.3 ha Site is currently in agricultural use and comprises four large fields with an area of a further field in the south east of the Site. The fields are separated by hedgerows, fences, a farm track and public highway

(Mill Lane).

3.2.3 The Site is currently divided into two parts by Mill Lane which runs east to west through the northern half of the site and access to the Site is currently afforded from Mill Lane.

3.2.4 The Site is bound by:

• The A14 dual carriageway and embankment to the north.

• Open agricultural fields with the isolated farmstead of Clamps Farm to the east.

• The to Cambridge railway line and Muntons Malting works to the south.

• The A1120 and to the west.

3.3 Topography

3.3.1 The highest point of the site (~47 m AOD) is in the north. The topography falls from here to the north east and south east boundaries, to a low of approximately 25 m AOD in the southern corner, the site forming the north

western valley slope of the River Gipping valley. The River Gipping was located approximately 190m from the Site

at its closest point.

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3.4 Mineral Resources

3.4.1 Historical Ordnance Survey maps and environmental and geological data provided by Groundsure Ltd (as part of the desk study), along with additional data from the British Geological Survey and the findings of intrusive

investigation works detailed in a ground investigation report submitted with the planning application. The British

Geological Survey (BGS) 1:50,000 scale series online mapping of the area indicates that the majority of the site is

underlain by Superficial Deposits of the Lowestoft Formation with River Terrace/Glaciofluvial Deposits (sand and

gravel) and Alluvium (clay and silt) recorded in the south of the site. The underlying bedrock geology is recorded

as the Crag Group, with the Newhaven Chalk Formation indicated to subcrop in the southern part of the site.

3.4.2 British Geological Survey Sand and Gravel Resource Publications have been published for the neighbouring districts of Woolpit (TL96 1983) and Ipswich (TM14 1981), although no publication is available covering the site

itself. Both publications outline that the River Terrace Deposits and the Crag (as indicated as present at the site)

are considered as potential sources of sand and gravel resource. The Gipping Valley has a history of sand and

gravel extraction, particularly between and northwest Ipswich. The River Terrace Deposits are

indicated to have a mean composition of 46% sand and 42% gravel, although this is recorded to vary significantly.

The Crag is recorded to have a very low gravel content, which along with the complex chemical composition (high

calcium carbonate and iron mineral content) results in it not being widely used or excavated for aggregate.

3.4.3 The site ground investigation identified that River Terrace Deposits (RTD) were limited to the southern corner of the Site and were encountered in one borehole (BH5) and one trial pit (TP22). They were disclosed as a variable

sequence of soils to a maximum depth of 9.20m. In BH05, the RTD were encountered as layers of medium dense

sandy gravel of flint, a medium dense gravelly sand and a firm sandy occasionally gravelly clay. In TP22, the RTD

were encountered as a gravelly sand over a gravelly clay with sand partings.

3.4.4 The Crag Group was encountered in the northern part of the site, at depths of between 15.0m and 22.5m bgl. The base, where proven, was encountered at a maximum depth of 25.80m bgl (18.10m AOD) in BH10. It was

typically encountered as a medium dense to very dense grey / greyish brown sand with variable gravel content of

chalk, flint and shell fragments.

3.4.5 The RTD is of very limited lateral extent beneath the site’s developable area. Furthermore, the deposit was variable in composition containing several clay layers and only becoming consistently granular with depth,

beneath two separate water strikes, making possible excavation more difficult and reducing the resource value.

As a result, the impact of the development on the possible mineral resource within the RTD is limited.

Furthermore, the Crag is already of limited use for aggregate resource, due to its fine to medium sand nature

and chemical composition. This, combined with the significant thicknesses of Lowestoft Formation overburden,

mean that the development would have a minimal impact on the already low possible mineral resource value

within the Crag.

3.4.6 Therefore the development is not considered to have a sterilising effect on potential mineral resource.

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3.5 Predominant Land Uses and Activities

Within the Site

3.5.1 There are no built structures and most of the Site is given to arable cereal production with large fields divided by fencing and hedgerows with field margins of various widths. Within the crop margins around the fields north of

the Mill Lane, are isolated small populations of the rare arable plant, shepherd’s needle. Along the western edge

of the southern cereal crop field is a species-rich margin, between 6 -10m wide, of unimproved neutral grassland.

Smooth meadow-grass and red fescue are abundant with frequent cock’s-foot and crested dog’s-tail grasses.

There are also two strips of species-rich unimproved neutral grassland either side of the ditch on the south-east

side of the crop field near the area of poor semi-improved grassland.

3.5.2 There is an area of semi-natural broadleaved woodland near the railway dominated by Ash with occasional white and grey willow. There are also two small semi-natural broadleaved woodlands in the north-east of the Site.

There is a small cluster of trees alongside Mill Lane at the north-western edge: three semimature/ mature

Norway maples along the southern verge and four mature field maples, one Ash tree and a wild cherry tree

along the northern verge. The other concentration of individual and clusters of trees is in the poor semi-

improved fields in the south of the site, predominantly along the ditches and field edges. Some of these trees

having been pollarded. The other individual tree within the site is a mature pedunculate oak, with a young

English elm growing beneath it, at the margin of the crop field in the north of the site. There are two short

sections of tree lines along the south-west field edge next to the railway track, with Norway maple the most

frequently occurring tree. There is another line of trees/scrub at the south-east edge of the site alongside the

ditch, with a mix of species dominated by hawthorn and crack willow. At the north-east edge of the site there is a

line of scrub and trees next to the ditch along the edge of the site, with abundant blackthorn.

3.5.3 The three sections of hedgerow on the site are intact, managed, 1-2m high and contain several woody species. None of the hedgerows meet the criteria to classify as Important Hedgerows under the Hedgerow Regulations,

1997.

3.5.4 There are several ditches across the site. North of Mill Lane, the ditch along the north-eastern edge of the site is deep, with shallow water but little in vegetation. The wet ditch to the west of the triangle of woodland is well

vegetated There are narrow, vegetated roadside ditches and a dry ditch along the edge of the crop field to the

east of Mill Lane. The meadows at the south of the site contains a series of ditches and a small area of reedbed

swamp at the south-east edge.

3.5.5 Based on this current level of evidence, there is a very high potential to encounter occupation deposits of later Bronze Age/earlier Iron Age date As a result archaeological trenched evaluation of land north of Mill Lane and the

excavation of a 0.26ha area to the south has been undertaken. Based on the desk-based assessment and

subsequent geophysical survey (ASE 2014 and Magnitude Surveys respectively) there is a moderate to high

potential to encounter archaeological remains during the trenched evaluation of land to the north of Mill Lane

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with, given the results of the earlier work to the south, deposits of prehistoric and medieval date most likely to be

uncovered.

Surrounding the Site

3.5.6 Adjacent to and beyond the Site are a range of land uses including:

• To the north - the A14 dual carriageway, beyond which lie Creeting Lakes fishery, open agricultural fields, the settlement of Creeting St Peter.

• To the east - Open agricultural fields with the isolated farmstead of Clamps Farm and Creeting St Peter church.

• To the south – the Ipswich to Cambridge railway line, Muntons Malting works and the B1113 Stowmarket Road.

• To the west – the A1120 and commercial (Climax Molybdenum and Tesco) / residential properties on the eastern edge of Stowmarket.

3.6 Transport and Access

3.6.1 The Site lies adjacent to the A14(T) dual carriageway, which connects the east Anglian Ports in the east with the M11, A1 and through to the M1 and M6 in the midlands to the west. The south-western boundary of the Site

abuts the A1120, which is locally also a dual carriageway.

3.6.2 The A14(T) is a strategic route carrying significant volumes of high-speed traffic throughout the year, particularly during summer months. Local roads carry substantially volumes of traffic during peak periods. A14(T) junction

50, to the north west of the Site, is a grade-separated junction with local traffic passing below the A14(T). The

roundabout has on and off single-carriageway slip roads of a typical arrangement.

3.6.3 The A1120 is a major local route that connects eastern Stowmarket to the A14. To the north of the A14 the A1120 is single carriageway and links to Stowupland, Earl Stonham (A140) and eventually Yoxford and the A12.

3.6.4 There are no public transport routes that access the site directly. The nearest bus stops at located within the adjacent Stowmarket urban areas locally known as Cedars Park. Bus services from this location connect to

Stowmarket Rail Station. Stowmarket rail station is located on the London to Norwich main line with regular

services in both directions.

3.6.5 National Cycle Network route 51is located along the B1113 approximately 500m to the south of the Site.

3.6.6 There are also two Public Rights of Way (PRoW) within the Site; These are Mill Lane which passes through the Site from east to west and Footpath W-209 001/0#1, which enters the Site at its north east corner adjacent to the A14

from Creeting St Peter and crosses the site to link to Mill lane to the south. Further to the east are a series of

PRoWs linking Creeting St Peter to the various small settlements in the area and further east to Creeting St Mary.

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3.6.7 The Ipswich to Cambridge railway line to the south of the Site benefits from a 10m wide service easement running along the to the southern boundary.

3.7 Air Quality

3.7.1 There are currently no AQMA in or around Stowmarket. National Air Quality Standards (NAQS)3-1 are not being breached or close to being breached as demonstrated by the 2019 Air Quality Annual Status Report prepared by

Babergh and District Councils.

3.7.2 The air quality at the Site is likely to be influenced primarily by emissions from road traffic with limited contributions from surrounding industrial / commercial uses.

3.8 Landscape and Visual

3.8.1 The Site does not lie within or in proximity to any nationally designated landscape areas (e.g. National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)). The nearest AONB is the Suffolk Coast and Heath AONB located

approximately 19km to the south east of the Site boundary. There are no landscape designations that protect

the Site or surrounding area. At the County Level (Suffolk Landscape Character Assessment, 2011) the Site lies

within the Ancient Plateau Claylands and the Rolling Valley Farmlands and Furze Landscape Character Areas.

3.8.2 The Ancient Plateau Claylands are a series of gently rolling plateau areas found around the River Gipping.

3.8.3 Key Characteristics of the Ancient Plateau Claylands include:

• Flat or gently rolling arable landscape of clay soils dissected by small river valleys;

• pattern of ancient enclosure – random patterns in the south but often co-axial in the north. Small patches of straight-edged fields associated with the late enclosure of woods and greens;

• Dispersed settlement pattern of loosely clustered villages, hamlets and isolated farmsteads of medieval origin;

• Villages often associated with medieval greens or tyes;

• Farmstead buildings are predominantly timber-framed, the houses colourwashed and the barns blackened with tar. Roofs are frequently tiled, though thatched houses can be locally significant;

• Scattered ancient woodland parcels containing a mix of oak, lime, cherry, hazel, hornbeam, ash and holly;

• Hedges of hawthorn and elm with oak, ash and field maple as hedgerow trees;

• Substantial open areas created for WWII airfields and by 20th century agricultural changes; and

• Network of winding lanes and paths often associated with hedges create visual intimacy.

3-1 https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk

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3.8.4 The visual impact of large-scale agricultural buildings is identified as a force for change within this area which can be partially mitigated by the siting, form, orientation and colour of the buildings. New planting should be

designed to integrate the development into the character of this landscape and may consist of both backdrop

and screening planting.

3.8.5 Land Management Guidelines for the Ancient Plateau Claylands of relevance to the proposed development include:

• Maintain and increase the stock of hedgerow trees; and

• Maintain the extent, and improve the condition, of woodland cover with effective management, especially if this can be economically viable.

• The Rolling Valley Farmlands and Furze Landscape Character Area is a valley landscape with distinctive areas of grass and gorse heaths.

3.8.6 Key Characteristics of the Rolling Valley Farmlands and Furze Landscape Character Area include:

• Valleys with prominent river terraces of sandy soil;

• Small areas of gorse heathland in a clayland setting;

• Straight boundaries associated with late enclosure;

• Co- axial field systems;

• Mixed hedgerows of hawthorn, dogwood and blackthorn with oak, ash and field maple;

• Fragmentary cover of woodland;

• Sand and gravel extraction;

• Golf courses; and

• Focus for larger settlements.

3.8.7 Key forces for change identified in this Landscape Character Area include the ‘exaggerated visual impact of the height of buildings and structures. In these valley side landscapes the visual impact of new vertical elements is

increased by the landform. Therefore, new buildings are likely to have a significant impact on both the character

and visual amenity of valley floor and valley side landscape types’.

3.8.8 Land Management Guidelines include:

• Maintain and increase the stock of hedgerow trees.

• Maintain the area of woodland cover; siting of any new woodland should be based on information from the Historic Landscape Characterisation and in consultation with the Archaeological Service.

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3.8.9 The undulating landform across the Site and the river valley to the south allows open views across the area primarily from the north, east and south; these views are varyingly filtered by field boundary vegetation. The

expected visual envelope is contained by the existing settlement edge of Stowmarket to the west and increasing

density of woodland vegetation to the north and south. In all views the Site is expected to be visible in the

context of existing built development.

3.9 Heritage Features

3.10 There are no World Heritage Sites (WHS) within or in 5 km of the Site. There are also no Registered Parks and Gardens and Registered Battlefields within 2km of the Site. The nearest Conservation Areas are Badley, located

740m to the south east of the site and Stowmarket located 1.2km to the west. The site is separated from the

Badley by the railway line, the B1113 and its bordering trees and hedgerows, a Garden Centre and further

agricultural land.

3.11 The Site does not contain any Scheduled Monuments (SMs); however, there is one within 2 km of the Site. This is the site of a Chantry (Ref 1006030)2 which is 1.5km to the south of the site.

3.12 Within 2 km of the Site, there several listed buildings, a large majority of these are Grade II listed, 15 Grade II* listed and three Grade I. The nearest listed building is the Grade II Listed ‘The Clamp and Clamp Cottages’ located

at the eastern boundary of the site south of Mill Lane.

3.13 Most assets within 2 km do not have intervisibility with the Site and / or a clear relationship in terms of their setting. For those assets with some degree of inter-visibility the heritage significance of these assets generally

derives from their archaeological / historic and evidential values and relationships with their immediately

surrounding landscape / townscape context. Due to the distance from the Site, partial intervening screening

afforded by topography, built form and vegetation and lack of clear relationship with the Site, the setting of these

assets is unlikely to be affected by the Works and the completed and operational Development.

3.14 Archaeological receptors have been identified from the results of the previous archaeological investigations carried out on the Site. Detailed discussion of archaeological resource within the study area is contained in the

Technical Reports that form appendices to this Chapter 10.

2 https://historicengland.org.uk/

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3.15 Surface Water Drainage and Flood Risk

3.15.1 The EA’s Flood Zone mapping shows that most of the Site to be within Flood Zone 1 (defined as land having a less than 1 in 1,000 annual probability of fluvial or tidal flooding). The south eastern part of the Site and a small area

at the north eastern boundary of the Site is within Flood Zone 3. The nearest watercourses to the Site are the

River Gipping at the south eastern boundary and a watercourse which flows from Creeting Lakes to the River

Gipping as the north eastern boundary of the Site.

3.15.2 The EA’s Flood Risk for Surface Water mapping shows discrete areas of surface water risk that correlate with existing ditches and low areas in the topography. Details plans of the identified risk are to be included within the

Flood Risk Assessment (FRA).

3.15.3 There is understood to be a substantial land drainage system serving the fields. Rainfall currently infiltrates into the ground when geological and hydrogeological conditions allow, and then runs off once the infiltration capacity

of the ground has been exceeded. Any run-off currently generated will be directed by the Site topography to the

north east, south and south east and ultimately into the River Gipping via ditches and watercourses. The River

Gipping forms part of the East Suffolk catchment has a Water Framework Directive overall water body quality

classification, an ecological status and a chemical status of ‘Good’.

3.16 Utilities and Services,

3.16.1 There are 132kV overhead lines (OHL) including three towers that cross the site from north to south. There are also two spans of 11kV HV overhead lines (OHL) that are shown to cross the site. The first 11kV OHL is situated

approximately 100m east of the 132kV OHL and the second 11kV OHL is shown to crosses within the south-

western corner of the site from the existing railway line at the southern boundary to the A1120 at the western

boundary.

3.16.2 The gas record plan shows a network of low pressure (LP) and medium pressure (MP) gas mains surrounding the site although there are no records of gas apparatus on the site itself.

3.16.3 Anglian Water (AW) clean water record plan received shows a network of clean water mains of varying sizes, within the site and the surrounding area. Two clean water mains are located within Mill Lane adjacent to the

northern and north-eastern boundaries of the site that serve the existing residential development to the north-

west of the site and Clamp Farm to the east of the site. There is no clean water apparatus within the site.

3.16.4 Anglian Water (AW) public sewer record plans confirm the presence of a network of public foul and surface water sewers of varying sizes, in the vicinity of the site. There are a series of foul and surface water sewers situated

within the roads serving the existing residential and commercial developments beyond the A1120 to the

northwest of the site. There is no AW Foul and Surface Water apparatus present within the site.

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3.16.5 There is a network of below ground and overhead telecommunications lines serving the surrounding area. There is an overhead line (OHL) located along part of Mill Lane adjacent to the eastern boundary of the site which

serves the Clamp Farm buildings. The record plans obtained show underground apparatus within Mill Lane and

the A1120 adjacent to the site. Further infrastructure is located within the B1113 beyond the existing railway line

to south of the site.

3.17 Summary of Sensitive Environmental Resources / Receptors

3.17.1 Based on the existing conditions within the Site and the surrounding area, a number of sensitive environmental

resources / receptors have been identified. These are outlined in Table 3.1 alongside their relationship to the

factors noted within Item 4, Schedule 4 of the EIA Regulations and the Chapters where they are considered within

this ES.

Table 3.1: Summary of Sensitive Environmental Resources / Receptors

Sensitive environmental Relationship to factors set out in Chapter where considered resources / receptors Schedule 4 of the EIA Regulations

Existing properties located to the • Chapter 8: Noise and Vibration. west and the east of the Site Population, human health, air and • Chapter 9: Landscape and Visual. (including adjacent site users and landscape. those located along haulage routes • Chapter 11: Surface Water Drainage to / from the Site). and Flood Risk.

Local population (including • Chapter 7: Transport and Access. motorised and non-motorised users • Chapter 9: Landscape and Visual. of the local road network, visual Population and human health. receptors, general population and • Chapter 13: Economics and economic receptors). Employment.

Controlled water receptors • Chapter 11: Surface Water Drainage (including water quality and Water. and Flood Risk. receiving capacity).

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