Consultee Comments for Planning Application DC/20/01175 Application Summary Application Number: DC/20/01175 Address: Land Adj Port One Business And Logistics Park Blackacre Hill Bramford Road Great Blakenham Suffolk IP6 0RL Proposal: Application for Outline Planning Permission. (Access to be considered) Extension to Port One Business and Logistics Park (as permitted under ref. 2351/16 and varied by ref. 1755/17), together with associated works including drainage lagoons, ecology mitigation and landscaping Case Officer: Elizabeth Flood Consultee Details Name: Mrs Janet Gobey Address: Email: [email protected] On Behalf Of: Great Blakenham Parish Clerk Comments The Council is very concerned about the following: The number and variety of trees that are due to be removed, especially as the southern boundary of the site has an attractive wooded area through which a footpath runs. There are no details given of the height of the buildings or their elevation against the hill on the western edge of the site. The high probability of twenty-four hour operation at the site which will bring light and noise pollution. It should be noted that the site is close to the Little Blakenham bat roost and further light pollution will have negative impact on the bat colony. This development will only increase the risk of flooding on the B1113, a problem which has been well documented and is now a major hazard on the road during periods of heavy rain Traffic the Council does not feel that there is enough clarity about the access on to and off the site on to the B1113. This road is already overloaded with traffic, which continues to grow as more industrial units and houses are built along both sides. The Council have repeatedly asked for a lower speed limit along the B1113 from the Suez site up to the Hackneys Corner junction as both the number of vehicles using the road and the number of n junctions on to it continue to increase. The Council wants to put on record yet again that it is essential that a new traffic assessment is carried out before any more development (including this one) is approved and that this new assessment takes account of both recent and possible future developments (e.g. SnOasis). DC/20/01175 Application for Outline Planning Permission. (Access to be considered) Extension to Port One Business and Logistics Park (as permitted under ref. 2351/16 and varied by ref. 1755/17), together with associated works including drainage lagoons, ecology mitigation and landscaping Little Blakenham Councillors discussed this application and unanimously object to it in its current form for the following reasons: The Council is extremely concerned about the height and scale of the buildings, especially as the site is on an upward slope from the B1113. The Council notes that there appear to be no drawings of the elevation of the building against the contour lines of the land and feels that it is impossible to understand how this will look from The Common without further detailed information. It is essential that further information and clarification is obtained from the developer before any decision is made, even if this means delaying any decision on the application. The Council is aware that part of the land was the subject of another planning application where height restrictions were put in place and believe that similar restrictions should be in place if this application is approved to prevent the buildings towering over the local area. Construction of the 20-metre high warehouse type buildings on an already elevated site, to the edge of the allocated site is not in the public interests and intends only to maximise floorspace without consideration of the locality. Elsewhere in the district, building of this scale are appropriately offset by being designed into low lying sites, to reduce their visual impact. Traffic concerns - apart from staff driving to and from the site, there are an extremely high number of lorry parking areas and lorry movements per hour listed in the application. This will result in a huge increase in traffic on the B1113, a road which is already over capacity with long delays at rush hour. Additionally the entrance to the site will be close to the Suez incinerator entrance and close to the traffic lights beside the incinerator and adding yet another junction to a short stretch of the B1113 between the Suez junction and Hackneys Corner which increases the risk of accidents as more and more vehicles are attempting to turn in and out. This, of course, is additional to the massive increase in traffic that would be produced by any development on the SnOasis site. Tree loss – the application involves the removal of many well-established trees and there is no indication that there will be sufficient replacements in that area of the site to offset this. The removal of a substantial amount of vegetation will further reduced the screening provided. In addition, vegetation is transient and beyond a five-year landscape condition the District Council cannot control the screening measures of the site. The Parish Council disagree with the assessment of the Landscape Officer, that the impact with be only to the immediate area. Wider vistas of this area are achieved from many points further afield. Finally, the Council feels that a further development of this size and scale will mean that Port One would become a major business park and that the whole application needs to be thoroughly reassessed and further information must be obtained from the developer on these areas of concern before any decision is made. It should be noted that the Parish Council were in support of the original application that provided a combination of unit sizes, however also respected the existing character of development AND worked with the site constraints, including site elevations and existing vegetation. The implications of the Covid-19 pandemic are anticipated to result in an economic downturn, and the economic benefit of development in the area is noted, however it should not be ‘development at any cost’. The proposal does not provide a satisfactory alternative to that originally approved. From: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: 27 May 2020 09:48 To: BMSDC Planning Area Team Blue <[email protected]> Subject: RE: DC/20/01175 - Land Adj Port One Business And Logistics Park, Blackacre Hill, Gt Blakenham Good Morning, Thank you for your email. Parish Councillors do not have a comment on this development. Best wishes, Charmaine Charmaine Greenan Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer Claydon and Whitton Parish Council Developments Affecting Trunk Roads and Special Roads Highways England Planning Response (HEPR 16-01) Formal Recommendation to an Application for Planning Permission From: Martin Fellows Operations (East) [email protected] To: Mid Suffolk District Council CC: [email protected] [email protected] Council's Reference: DC/20/01175 Referring to the planning application referenced above, dated 20 March 2020, application for the extension to Port One Business and Logistics Park, Port One Business and Logistics park, Blackacre Hill, Blakenham, notice is hereby given that Highways England’s formal recommendation is that we: a) offer no objection; b) recommend that conditions should be attached to any planning permission that may be granted (see Annex A – Highways England recommended Planning Conditions); c) recommend that planning permission not be granted for a specified period (see Annex A – further assessment required); d) recommend that the application be refused (see Annex A – Reasons for recommending Refusal). Highways Act Section 175B is / is not relevant to this application.1 1 Where relevant, further information will be provided within Annex A. Page 1 of 5 Highways England Planning Response (HEPR 16-01) January 2016 Date: 3 April 2020 Signature: Name: Mark Norman Position: Spatial Planning Manager Highways England: Woodlands, Manton Lane Bedford MK41 7LW [email protected] Annex A Highways England recommended no objection HIGHWAYS ENGLAND has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport as strategic highway company under the provisions of the Infrastructure Act 2015 and is the highway authority, traffic authority and street authority for the Strategic Road Network (SRN). The SRN is a critical national asset and as such we work to ensure that it operates and is managed in the public interest, both in respect of current activities and needs as well as in providing effective stewardship of its long-term operation and integrity. This response represents our formal recommendations with regards to DC/20/01175 and has been prepared by Simon Willison. Highways England has reviewed the Transport Assessment and Interim Workplace Travel Plan (both referenced 1970/AF, dated March 2020) which have been prepared by Cottee Transport Planning on behalf of Team AB Services Limited for a proposed business park extension at Port One, off Addison Way, Great Blakenham. Trip rates, distribution and assignment Trip rates are in principal considered reasonable however it is observed that the baseline traffic surveys are based on 0740-0840 and 1620-1720 time periods whereas the trip rates have been obtained for 0800-0900 and 1700-1600. It should be confirmed that 0740-0840 and 1620-1720 represent the peaks within the surveyed time periods. If this is the case, it is noted that the trip rates for 0800-0900 and 1700-1800 do not in all cases represent the peak development trip generation and in fact during the morning peak either the 0600-0700 or 0700-0800 period would be a more robust basis for estimating development trips. Page 2 of 5 Highways England Planning Response (HEPR 16-01) January 2016 TRICS should be able to provide half-hourly trip rates for 02 Employment land uses therefore a 0730-0830 may represent a more appropriate time period for obtaining trip rates which better aligns with the assumed peak observed traffic flows between 0740- 0840.