Plans for a new access to a Needham Market field refused by Mid Suffolk District Council

Plans to create a new access to a Needham Market field have been refused due to highway safety and wildlife concerns.

Applicant Craig Watchamn submitted a proposal to Mid Suffolk District Council to install an access to land off Grinstead Hill, in Ipswich Road.

The proposal to construct a new field access was refused on the grounds of the risk to the nearby Chalk Pit County Wildlife Site, which is designated to boosting biodiversity in the area.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust said the proposal would result in the permanent loss of protected habitats on the site, including lowland calcareous grassland, which is a priority habitat supporting many rare and declining plant species.

The plans received eight objections from residents, with some public comments saying a large section of hedge near the proposed site had been removed prior to the planning application being submitted.

Needham Market Town Council also objected and requested that the hedgerow be returned to its original state.

The plans were also refused for lacking information about the proposed access ‘such that the local planning authority cannot be certain a safe and secure access could be created’.

A report by planning officers concluded: “In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the development would be harmful to the public highway and harmful to the protected habitat on site.”

An earlier version of this story contained inaccuracies which we apologise for.