Controversial planning for homes in Melton overturned
The council's overturned planning for the development amid fresh concerns
A decision to approve 55 homes in Melton last year has been overturned amid fresh concern over highways safety.
East Suffolk Council’s planning south committee in March 2021 agreed to grant outline planning permission by five votes to three for an application by Warburg Dawson Partnership to develop land off St Andrews Place.
That was despite objections from Suffolk County Council Highways, Melton Parish Council, ward councillor Rachel Smith-Lyte and 91 members of the public.
Neighbours wrote to the council arguing that the committee had been misled over the extent of costs if an appeal was made and over the highways consultation, which legal representatives suggested would “be amenable to a successful judicial review challenge”.
The council disputed the claim, but agreed to refer the matter back to the planning south committee for re-consideration.
On Tuesday afternoon, the planning committee – which visited the site earlier in the day – refused the plans by seven votes to two, thereby overturning its original approval.
That was over concerns about highways safety from the narrow St Andrews Place access road, which frequently has cars parked on the roadside.
Planning officers said they felt that the highways impact was “not so severe to warrant refusal on highways grounds”.
But committee chair Cllr Debbie McCallum, said: “The officers are here to help make a decision on this planning application, it’s their belief that the objections of Highways are not strong enough.
“This committee has decided today that they believe that highways reasons are strong enough, and that is in our gift to make that decision to refuse this application.”
Suffolk County Council Highways maintained its original objection to the scheme. It said St Andrews Place was not considered suitable for construction traffic and “would be detrimental to the safety of users of the highway for a significant period of time”.
It also stressed that it would add further traffic to the already over capacity Melton crossroads, and no direct access link was proposed for the nearby rail station.
Developers had agreed to create some more parking bays and crossing places in St Andrews Place which the highways authority acknowledged had “progressed as far as is feasible”.
Developers were not present for the re-submission, but in their application said that 18 affordable homes would be provided and said its transport assessment that concluded that “the development will have no significant impact on the local road network”.
It added that there were “proposals for alterations to the adopted highways areas through St Andrews Place” which were “a means of mitigating the impact of the scheme and providing safer pedestrian routes to local amenities in Melton for existing and new residents”.
It is not yet clear if the developers plan to appeal the reconsidered decision.