News from Your County Councillor, John Field

12.00.00pm GMT Fri 20th Aug 2004

The most important issue in the area is the proposed developments in Great Blakenham. Planning permission is now being sought for a winter sport leisure resort, SnOasis, 532 houses on the old cement works site and a new railway station. Many people who live locally welcome the economic benefits that SnOasis will bring but are very worried that the increased traffic which will result from visitors, workers and the new housing estate will make life unbearable. Our recent Survey suggests that residents are of the opinion that traffic volumes will be much higher than those projected by the developer. They are also worried that local schools and other infrastructure will be overwhelmed.

The County Council is responsible for many of these issues and I, with other councillors must ensure that we make the necessary input to ensure that the result is satisfactory.

The County and the Highways Agency have employed consultants Faber Mouchel to assist them in the assessment of these highways issues. The consultant's initial report indicates that there are more questions raised than answered by the SnOasis documents. They are now developing a detailed view of the road changes that they believe will be necessary to ensure that the impact on local people is minimal.

County education staff are working to ensure that they can accommodate the additional children should the application for 500 + houses be accepted. Clearly this must be done without compromising the quality of education that we currently provide.

Kathy Pollard, the County Councillor whose division includes Sproughton, and I are working to ensure these issues are fully explored and that suitable solutions are obtained. By doing this,we should ensure that economic benefits may be realised without affecting the quality of life of local people. We believe that the SnOasis developers should contribute to improvements at the Copdock Mill interchange which would reduce the impact that additional traffic would have on many villages including Sproughton, Bramford and Great Blakenham.

We have met with the Director of Environment and Transport and the officers concerned with highways and economic issues and are reassured that progress is being made.

It is vital that local people write to Mid Suffolk District Council expressing their views on this matter.