Some residents are concerned about the categorisation of Risby and Saxham Business Parks for general industrial usage in the council’s newly-adopted Local Plan.
Some residents are concerned that this is linked to the AJN Steelstock application has recently had its appeal hearing.
As one resident said: “I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw that a whole list of villages which have Business Parks (now termed ‘Rural Employment Areas’) including Risby and Saxham, are now to be categorised as suitable for a number of uses including general industrial.”
The residents noted that general industrial includes heavy industry and that this means that the old B2 category has now been effectively been imposed on the village of Risby.
The parish council in Risby are also concerned that they were not consulted properly.
Nick Timothy MP contacted West Suffolk Council and received the following response:
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Consultation
The preparation of the West Suffolk local plan (WSLP) complied with all relevant legal requirements, including in the Planning and Compulsory Purchase 2004 Act (as amended) and the 2012 Regulations. This included notifying all parish councils of their right to comment on the WSLP at the various stages of preparation including the public consultations in 2020, 2022 and 2024 and the examination. We can therefore confirm Risby Parish council has had opportunity to comment on the proposals of the WSLP.
Employment uses suitable at Risby Business Park
The designation of Risby business park in the WSLP as a rural employment area (reference SP23ap), effectively carries forward a designation established in the previous Rural Vision local plan (2014) (reference RV4h). Whilst the new WSLP refers to descriptions of employment uses that will be supported instead of use classes, these uses described as use classes in the glossary. In essence the policies are similar, as both the former Rural Vision and new WSLP support B2 (general industrial) provided that various considerations can be met. Further considerations have been added to the new WSLP to ensure any proposals are appropriate in this location.
The new WSLP supports proposals for offices (subject to satisfying a sequential test as required by policy SP22), research and development, light industrial, general industrial and storage and distribution uses at Risby Business Park, provided that parking, and secure cycle storage, access, travel, visual impact, archaeology and general environmental considerations can be met. The list of considerations to be met has been widened since the Rural Vision, this is to ensure the nature of the use is appropriate in the location. Any proposal would also be required to meet all other policy requirements of the WSLP.
West Suffolk Local Plan 2024-2041 2025
The former St Edmundsbury Rural Vision local plan policy RV4 which is superseded by the WSLP stated in the table that B1 and B8 uses will be supported at Risby Business Park. Policy RV4 goes on to state (under the table) that ‘Proposals for B1, and B2 and B8 uses where appropriate, will be permitted within rural employment areas providing that space requirements, parking, access, landscaping and general environmental considerations can be met.’ Thereby it also permits B2 when the considerations are met, in the same way it does in the WSLP.
Rural-vision-2015v5-hi-res-compressed.pdf
Scale of development appropriate
It is important to note the other wording in policy SP23 of the WSLP which states ‘These uses will be accommodated in buildings of an appropriate size for their rural location to meet local business and community needs.’ Thereby large scale B2 uses such as currently proposed by AJN Steelstock and subject of an appeal would not be acceptable at Risby Business Park.
The site area of the existing established Risby business park is some 3 hectares in size, therefore its clear to see the WSLP would not support a large scale B2 use such as currently proposed by AJN Steelstock on land south of the A14, due to the scale and the nature of the use. The Risby business park is of insufficient size to accommodate the AJN Steelstock proposals as they are considerably larger, some 21 hectares.
Summary
We trust this letter provides suitable reassurance to Risby PC, that they were consulted at the relevant stages of preparation of the local plan giving them opportunity to comment on proposals and that the WSLP is similar to the former local plan. The WSLP requires the nature and scale of any proposed business use at Risby business park to be an appropriate size for the rural location to meet local business and community needs.
