Councillors minded to approve AB Agri Ltd and British Sugar Plc’s plans for animal feed mill in Bury St Edmunds

Plans for a huge animal feed mill on the edge of Bury St Edmunds are closer to being granted, despite being recommended for refusal over ‘significant’ harm to the landscape.

AB Agri Ltd and British Sugar Plc’s proposal for a facility with a main building 50.2 metres tall, inclusive of its flues, in land off Compiegne Way went before West Suffolk Council’s development control committee today.

The planning officer recommended permission be refused as, despite the benefits of the application and proposed mitigation, ‘such a tall, bulky and obtrusive development will cause significant and permanent harm to the landscape, and will harm the existing townscape of Bury St Edmunds and its immediate countryside setting to the north-east’.

However, councillors were minded to approve the plans, on a vote of 15 in favour and one abstention, subject to officers’ risk assessment, with a final decision at a future committee meeting.

Dino Kiriakopoulos, managing director for AB Agri UK Mono, told SuffolkNews they were ‘just very pleased’ with the decision.

He said: “We are delighted that the planning committee voted unanimously in favour of our proposal to build a new feed mill in Bury. This new mill will build on our existing business in the area and provide more employment opportunities for the community, as well as supporting the region’s farm businesses with affordable feed, produced locally.”

Speaking to the meeting, he said the new mill, which is designed to replace the existing one off Hollow Road, represented an investment of £75-80 million and would generate 70 well-paid new jobs.

“The concerns raised and visual issues cannot reasonably outweigh the benefits,” he said.

He mentioned that the site was designated for industrial use and is surrounded by development on three sides, and the site had been recommended to them by the council’s executive officers.

He added the development would be seen in the context of the much larger and taller British Sugar factory.

Cllr Diane Hind said there was ‘no doubt’ the facility would be huge and would have a massive impact on the visual amenity, but only in some areas and the applicants had taken steps to reduce the impact, and overall she was minded to approve the application.

“It’s in an industrial area, it’s close to British Sugar, it would be good for jobs,” she said.

Cllr Sara Mildmay-White said: “The benefits of keeping a really well-established business in town and the jobs that are already here alongside the jobs that will be created in my mind does outweigh the impact of this building.”

Cllr Ian Houlder said it was ‘so narrow minded’ to say ‘we cannot have this because it’s too big’, adding that farming is a billion pound industry just for this area.

Cllr Andy Neal said: “We mustn’t forget the global importance of producing this locally rather than importing it from Brazil.”

Cllr Jim Thorndyke said he was ‘puzzled’ that there were just three neighbour representations (objections) ‘and that’s it’, adding: “I usually get a steer from what comes in from the public, but I haven’t got it.”

The planning officer report said ward member Cllr Beccy Hopfensperger said she had received lots of concerns from residents and parish councils with regards to the scale of the silos being out of keeping with the surrounding area, concerns over air pollution and water aquifer contamination.

Speaking as a member of the public, Sarah Broughton, whose husband farms the adjoining field to the east of the proposed mill, said the building would be a ‘monstrous’ size in north-east Bury and ‘would stick out like a sore thumb’.

Bury St Edmunds Town Council recommended refusal due to highway safety concerns and the Bury Society said while it supported the overall proposal to develop an animal feed mill between Compiegne Way and the Hollow Road Industrial Estate, it strongly objected to the proposals because of the significant visual impact.

The applicants proposed mitigation including tree planting and coloured cladding to the buildings to address the visual impact of the facility.

They have said the scale of the proposal, including the mill, which is 12 floors high, had been reduced as much as possible, whilst balancing the need to maximise efficiency and minimise energy consumption.

It was smaller in scale than modern feed mills in the global context, they said, and smaller than the tallest sugar factory structures, which reach 62.5 metres.

Suffolk County Council Highways did not object to the application, but recommended conditions including details of a new pedestrian crossing on Compiegne Way roundabout eastern arm.

The county council’s flood and water team recommended approval subject to conditions and the Environment Agency had no objection to the application.

In regards to air quality, West Suffolk Council’s environment team were able to support the proposal, subject to a condition requiring all Heavy Duty Vehicles delivering raw product to, or distributing final product from, the development having Euro VI compliant engines.

Great Barton Parish Council did not object to the application.