In 2019 Cheffins’ planning department secured planning permission for 85 dwellings and a community building on a greenfield site at Bacton, Suffolk.
Planning permission for the development - which is due to come to market in early 2020 - was secured after positive dialogue with the Council who initially had concerns about its scale, vehicular access, the status of the crossing point over the Norwich to London railway line and the privacy and amenity of bungalows on the northern boundary of the site.
Because of these concerns, the initial application for the site – submitted in December 2018 by ESCO developments in conjunction with the landowners – for 100 dwellings and a new community building had been deferred in March 2019.
At the time of submission Mid Suffolk Council was unable to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. The site was not allocated for residential development and in earlier Local Plan assessments was not considered to relate well to the existing built form of Bacton.
After positive discussions with the Council, the number of houses was reduced from 100 to 85 and a second point of access to the community building was secured.
The revised application was represented to Planning Committee on 4th September 2019, when, like the initial application it was recommended for approval by the Planning Officer. This time, however, it was approved after much debate, on the Chairman’s casting vote.
It is anticipated that the Section 106 agreement will be completed in January 2020 and the development will be offered to the market in March.