New agricultural training centre given go ahead near Coddenham
It's part of efforts to tackle an urgent skills crisis in the sector
An agricultural training centre has been given the go ahead, despite fears about road safety and the impact of noise on nearby residents.
Plans to build the centre in Coddenham’s countryside and use the surrounding area for practical training were approved by Mid Suffolk District Council yesterday.
The 3.31-hectare site to be used is on poor quality (grade four) agricultural land at Pipps Ford, adjacent to the A14. There is a small number of homes in its vicinity.
Construction and agricultural-based equipment will be used as part of training. The applicant assured the committee that just one telehandler would be used.
A representative for the applicant, Construction Training Services, said: “Construction and agriculture is in a skills crisis. Our industry is short of 200,000 workers.
“I am very sympathetic to the concerns of the neighbours. We have considered many of their points and made changes to our proposals on the basis of these.”
A similar application was refused in 2021 based on insufficient information about the need for the facility, impact on the landscape, noise impact and insufficient flood risk and drainage information.
Officers believed these had been addressed through the submission of a business case, landscape assessments, proposals to mitigate impact on the landscape, assessments on noise impact, and information on flood risk and drainage.
The vote was carried three votes to five. Many councillors stated they were ‘on the fence’ at the beginning of the debate, as they weighed up the positives for the agricultural sector with the negatives for nearby residents.
A representative from Coddenham Parish Council said: “We believe this proposal is on an inappropriate site.
“It will create constant increased noise and light pollution at what is a tranquil hamlet with a listed farmhouse.”
The grade two listed farmhouse on Pipps Ford was considered by the council’s Heritage Team alongside the nearby grade two listed Pippins house. The team decided the impact of the facility on these buildings would amount to “less than substantial harm” to the area.
In terms of noise, the applicant mentioned plans to install sound bunds and the report highlights the guarantee in the application that all equipment used will be low-noise and low-vibration.
The parish council also mentioned traffic problems, something mentioned in more than half of the objections submitted by members of the public.
The site is linked to the Beacon Hill Interchange roundabout, which the council called a ‘near miss hotspot’.
A condition to the approved recommendation includes increasing the size of the junction between the roundabout and a road onto the site – as well as the size of the road itself.
The classroom-based training provided will include health and safety, construction supervisory and management, waste and recycling management, environmental management, quality assurance, agricultural training and HGV driving.
The practical training will include use of equipment, street works, grass and hedge cutting and driving all-terrain vehicles.
The southern part of the land will be earmarked for sheep and horse grazing as part of a ‘hobby farm’ the applicant intends to create and use for private purposes. It will include a stable block and concrete area for horses.
Between 150 and 200 candidates are expected to visit the facility every week, and Construction Training Services hopes to establish a taxi or shuttle bus from Needham Market Station to the site.